IOWA INSIDER

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, a Democrat who has been rumored to be on the short list of Democrat Barack Obama’s potential running mates, will hit central Iowa Thursday for a series of campaign appearances.

The events include a brown bag lunch in Des Moines that will focus on pay equity for women and Obama’s economic policies. She’ll also kick off a volunteer phone bank for the Obama campaign’s Des Moines office.

A meet and greet with 4th District congressional candidate Becky Greenwald is set for that afternoon in Waukee. Sebelius will also hold a community gathering at a deli in Indianola.

Obama has yet to announce his running mate with one week to go before the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, knows who he wants to see as Barack Obama’s veep.

During a radio interview with KGGO-FM at the fair Wednesday, Harkin said he’s pushing for Senate colleague Chris Dodd of Connecticut.

“He is on the short list. What’s going to happen, I just don’t know right now,” Harkin said.

During the interview, Harkin demurred when asked who might be the guest at his annual steak fry, set for Sept. 14, although he did say he knew who it probably would be.

The event is one of the top Democratic political events in Iowa, and featured the slate of Democratic presidential candidates last year.

Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, who admitted last week to an extramarital affair with a videographer chronicling his campaign, has cancelled a scheduled appearance in Iowa next month.

Edwards had been slated to appear as the keynote speaker for Iowa First Lady Mari Culver’s Conference on Solutions to Poverty.

Troy Price, spokesman for Iowa Gov. Chet Culver, said they received word today about Edwards’ cancellation and are working to secure a new keynote speaker for the event.

The conference had been rescheduled from an original date in June after the state was hit with widespread flooding.

Edwards, who placed second in both the 2008 and 2004 Iowa Democratic caucuses, had championed efforts to lift Americans out of poverty.

The former U.S. senator from North Carolina was familiar to many Iowans after campaigning in all 99 counties, but many of his caucus supporters have expressed anger after the revelation of his affair.

Wife Elizabeth Edwards had been a fixture on the campaign trail in Iowa alongside her husband.