Thread: Does Daniels Really Fit GOP’s Bill? Maybe So

Does Daniels Really Fit GOP’s Bill? Maybe So

* By Stuart Rothenberg
* Roll Call Contributing Writer
* May 5, 2011, Midnight

He is definitely not the person central casting would have sent to play the role of president of the United States. But is Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels at the right place at the right time?

Now that Indiana’s legislative session is over, Daniels promises to decide in a matter of weeks whether he will run for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. It will be an important decision for him, as well as for his party.

I have no idea what Daniels, whom I first met 25 years ago when he was executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, will decide, but I’ve talked to plenty of political insiders and campaign operatives who think the governor would be a formidable contender.

In many ways, Daniels is a columnist’s dream. He certainly doesn’t look like a media-age politician, let alone a president. He is thoughtful, especially about budgetary matters, and he can talk about both policy and politics. All of that makes his candidacy noteworthy to those of us looking for an interesting angle and a new narrative.

But columnists often get hooked on the offbeat, and I can still remember some of the chatter about then-Illinois Sen. Paul Simon’s bid for the 1988 Democratic nomination for president.

Many of us said that Simon could be a potentially strong candidate precisely because, with his bow tie, glasses and professorial demeanor, he was the perfect anti-politician, and because his very liberal record presumably would play to the party’s base.

But Simon’s campaign sputtered after he came in second in the Iowa caucuses behind fellow Midwesterner Dick Gephardt, who looked more the part. Simon’s eventual exit from the contest was yet another nail in the casket for the “voters want someone who doesn’t look like a politicianâ€

Let me give you alittle history on mitch.He is my second cousin we dont claim him.Not because he is rep.because he is a snake in the grass his family moved from Ky. when he was small.He got his money by beating family and friends out of money on real estate deals.I could not vote for him because of his past not because of his political status.He cant be trusted I vote both parties im not just a one party person i try to weigh out a person before i vote.Mitch noway.