Many of the players in 2012 are already household names. Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin are embedded in the American consciousness (or is it consciousless?); however, Americans might be longing for an outsider, a fresh face or both of the above. One such person is Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels. There have been a few whispers of a 2012 run for Daniels, but outside the beltway most Americans have no idea who he is.
Daniels fits the presidential mold. He went to school at Princeton and got a law degree from Georgetown. During the Bush administration Daniels served at the Office of Management and Budget and was a member of the Homeland Security Council and National Security Council. He might run as an outsider, but it’s not like he hasn’t had experience in Washington.
As Governor of Indiana Mitch Daniels has shined. In 2008, he was named one of the top eight best public servants. To get an idea of how popular Daniels is in Indiana he won his bid for reelection in 2008 by 18 points. That’s an impressive margin of victory in a Democratic year.
As we all know, a major part of the presidency is communication. Here’s an impromptu speech by Daniels on ObamaCare from last year.
Awesome sweater. Sounds like he fits the part to me. He communicates much better than Tim Pawlenty. Daniels has all the tools to be a successful chief executive, but Republican Party politics are tricky to maneuver. However, there’s really no clear consensus on who the front-runner is for the 2012 nomination. Romney would be a shoe-in but his biggest achievement as governor of Massachusetts is an ObamaCare like bill that he passed. Sarah Palin just doesn’t have enough experience to be president. There is an opening there if someone wants to take it. How seriously does Daniels want the job? We’ll find out in 12 months.
I don’t really know enough about Daniels at this point to get excited. On the other hand, there’s nothing about the current crop of hopefuls that’s very exciting either. After the mid-terms, expect the presidential speculation to start heating up.
[...] Right Stuff: The Economist picks up where I left off last week with a puff piece on Indiana governor Mitch Daniels. The article sheds some light on [...]