What's the matter with North Carolina?

Kathleen Sebelius argues that the pocketbook will trump the prayer book.

Campaigning in Raleigh on behalf of Barack Obama, the Kansas governor told Dome that concerns about jobs and the economy will be more important to voters than "wedge issues" like abortion or same-sex marriage in the November election.

She cited her own experience in Kansas, a state so dominated by Republicans that liberal author Thomas Frank wrote a 2004 book called "What's the Matter with Kansas?" (Sebelius noted proudly that Frank has since changed his mind.)

"For a certain period of time, a lot of voters were lured to the Republican Party on social issues such as abortion," she said, arguing that the 2006 Congressional elections were the start of a shift away from that approach. "The 2008 election will be a continuation of voters returning to their self-interest."

She said that middle-class families will be attracted to Obama's plans to create jobs and make college more affordable.

"Most Americans want our focus to be on them and their families," she said.