Gilligan endorses Obama

Former Ohio Gov. Jack Gilligan says he’s a Barack Obama man this year, following the lead of his daughter, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who endorsed the Illinois senator for president on Tuesday.

“I think all you’ve got to do is compare the kind of campaign he’s running and the kind his opponent is running, and her husband,” Gilligan said Wednesday from his Clifton home. “You know, it’s old politics versus new politics, it really is.”

Gilligan, who first won a seat on Cincinnati City Council in 1953 - eight years before Obama was born - said he holds the relative newcomer in extremely high esteem.

“I first became aware of his existence a little over a year ago, and he’s a very bright guy,” Gilligan said. “I started sizing him up against the kind of opponents he’s facing, and he’s gotten more appealing all the time.”

Gilligan served one term as Ohio governor and spent the last eight years as a member of the Cincinnati school board, retiring in December.

His daughter is a popular two-term governor in predominantly Republican Kansas, and could be a potential running mate should Obama win the nomination. She mentioned her father's support of Obama in her endorsement earlier this week.