Kansas Governor Denies Political Hit

In response to accusations made the other day that the Democratic party was directing Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius to turn the Greensburg tornado into a political football, Powerline has run a response from the governor:

I am outraged that the Quinn & Rose show has aired a report suggesting that my efforts to highlight the need to replace National Guard equipment lost in Iraq are inspired by anything other than my responsibilities as commander-in-chief of the Kansas National Guard. The accusation that I received a call from anyone, encouraging me to take on this issue following the devastating tornado in Greensburg, is one-hundred-percent false -- period.

Making up stories like this, designed to turn the tragedy at Greensburg into some kind of political circus, is a shameful affront to the citizens of Greensburg and the citizen soldiers of the National Guard.

I'm sorry, but that isn't passing the smell test. Why would the governor tell the White House privately that she had all the assistance she needed, and then turn around and tell the press two days after the storm that the National Guard response was delayed because of Iraq deployments? Either she was directed to make that spurious charge, or chose to do so on her own. Either way, the only one creating the political circus was her, and the only one who should be ashamed is her. The citizens of Greensburg and the soldiers of the National Guard have every right to be outraged, but their outrage would be rightfully directed at Governor Sebelius.