Altered States.(on women governors Kathleen Sebelius and Sarah Palin)

Byline: Photographed by Jonathan Becker

Two women governors--a Democrat in Kansas and a Republican in Alaska--are attracting national attention by breaking the mold at home.

kathleen sebelius

In a divisive election year, Kansas's fair broker transcends the culture wars. John Powers reports.

A light December snow has begun swirling through the streets of Washington, D.C., when Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius--her trademark sunflower brooch glittering--takes the dais in the Capital Hilton's Presidential Ballroom and smiles out over the annual holiday party of the Democratic Governors Association. She has every reason to look pleased. It's been a great year. Under her leadership, the DGA has raised more campaign money than expected. It now boasts 28 Democratic governors, more than half from states carried by George W. Bush in the last election. And 2008 looks even better.

"You are the backbone of the Democratic Governors," Sebelius tells the throng of corporate donors, social activists, and political consultants who look up at the assembled governors. Promising even more Democratic gains, she ends with a happy verdict: "The momentum continues!"

The Democrats certainly hope so. As the party learned so painfully in 2000 and 2004, there's just one sure thing in presidential politics: Winning only the so-called blue states is the road to election-day heartbreak. This year, the trick will be finding a way to hold on to those states while building up enough "Big Mo" (as the elder George Bush called it) to snatch at least a couple from the red column.