2010-03-01
Discussion of My Man Mitch in 2012 Continues
Let me be on the record as saying that I love my Governor. He's really done incredible wonders for our state. Before Governor Daniels won the 2004 Gubernatorial race in Indiana, our state had an $800 Million deficit and government was growing at a rate beyond comprehension for Hoosiers. Since then, Governor Daniels has slashed payrolls, helped find countless ways to cut costs, and delivered consistent surpluses in the process. Even in the current recession, Indiana hasn't been hit all that hard relative to most other states. That's entirely because of the persistence of Governor Daniels and the sound plan he put forward when he got in office.
The New York Times is actually starting to pay attention to "My Man Mitch" as a possible 2012 contender:
Mitt Romney? He couldn’t make the voters like him last time ... Sarah Palin? She’d lose 47 states ... Mike Huckabee? Better as a talk-show host ... Tim Pawlenty, Jim DeMint, Bobby Jindal, David Petraeus? Too blah, too extreme, too green, and stop dreaming ...
But murmur the name Mitch Daniels, and everyone perks up a bit. Would he win? Maybe not. But he’d be the best president of any of them ...
Would Mitch Daniels make an excellent leader of this country? Undoubtedly!
Would he make an excellent candidate for the Republican Party? ... eh.
If Mitch Daniels were to run and win, it would be largely because there was some sort of natural disaster the claimed the lives of several other Republican candidates before the Primaries and nation-wide disgust with President Obama in the General Election. Daniels really isn't the most charismatic guy in the world and while that doesn't stop him from making an awesome executive, it does stop him from being the excellent politician.
As a result of this, Mitch Daniels isn't really an enormous help for Republican candidates. In 2008, Governor Daniels slaughtered his Democratic opponent by a jaw dropping 17.7% (and that's with Obama campaigning for his Democratic opponent, Jill Long Thompson). Yet, despite the 17.7% victory for Governor Daniels, the Republican Party lost Congressional races by wider margins than in 2006 (despite having some amazing candidates), the State House remained in Democrat hands, and Indiana's electoral delegates went to a Democrat for the first time in 40 years.
Governor Daniels is really a great leader for our country, but I'm not convinced he's the right guy to put at the top of 2012 ticket. Granted, if he runs, I'll support him simply because we don't have a lot of options an of all the names I've heard (except John Thune), I like Mitch Daniels the best... even if he is only 5'7".
With that said, it's worth noting that Mitch Daniels has not been touring Iowa or New Hampshire at all (neither has Senator Thune) and, according the website "Human Events", Governor Daniels is talking down the idea:
"I don’t plan to do it, I don’t expect to do it, I really don’t want to do it, [...] there are 100 reasons that no sane person wants to do this.”
But as John Gizzi also pointed out in that same article:
[T]he one-time Reagan White House aide and director of the Office of Management and Budget under George W. Bush never said “I won’t do it.”
With all of this said, there are some people who disagree with me about the charisma of the man. Mary Kate Cary from US News & World Report is apparently among them. Personally, I hope she's right. Mitch has been the kind of leader in Indiana that conservatives should legitimately be excited about.
If he decides to run, you'll most likely find me in this man's corner.
