About That Republican Response

Watching  the Republican Response to the State of the Union by Gov. Mitch Daniels last night felt like a flash-back to when Gov. Bobby Jindal gave the Republican Response to an earlier Obama State of the Union. There was so much anticipation among conservatives that we were going to see something great -- a break-through performance by a rising Republican star.

And then we watched with horror as Jindal did that deer in the headlights thing, thereby dashing our hopes (and nearly, his career, until the BP Oil Spill gave him a chance to show how to govern under pressure).

Mitch Daniels didn't perform quite as badly as Jindal, last night, but nonetheless was disappointing.  He looked visibly nervous.  It is a hard setting, to be sure:  an empty space in Indiana with no crowd to work, and none of the grandeur of a Joint Session of Congress.

I still wish Daniels was our nominee because of his extraordinary record as governor, not because of this speech.

Really Sad About Mitch Daniels

I cannot believe that Mitch Daniels decided not to run. He was the Republican party's best shot at electing a president who could restore a sense of fiscal discipline to this country.  He was our best shot at restoring a level of competence to government while recognizing that there are very few areas in which government should be involved.

It is just devastating news for the Republican party and for the country.

So who to support now?  Romney has disqualified himself with Romney-care.  If he gets the nomination, conservatives will have no choice but to start a third party.

Newt is brilliant.  His personal baggage, however, is too much of a distraction, and would threaten to demean the dignity of the office of the president.

Sarah Palin will not run.  Why should she?  She can influence public policy and get rich from the sidelines.

Tim Pawlenty benefits the most from Mitch Daniels declining to run.  Time to give Pawlenty a serious look.

Mitch (Daniels) Watch

There is speculation that Haley Barbour's decision not to run for president may be a signal that Gov. Mitch Daniels will run.

The New York Times via HotAir quotes a confidant of Daniels that the Indiana governor is now 60-70 percent likely to run.

Daniels previously said that if Barbour ran, he'd be inclined to help Barbour rather than run against him. So Barbour's surprise announcement that he will not seek the Republican nomination for president helps things fall in place for those of us who back Daniels as the voice of conservative competence.

It's been hard to watch Daniels from across the river, one state away, and envy the citizens of Indiana for their smart, effective governor. Perhaps there is hope that we can get him for president.

Mitch Daniels Just Wrecked My Day

I have long thought that Mitch Daniels would make an outstanding president. (For real change, let's try competency!)

But WHAS just aired an interview with him in which he appeared to tell Melissa Swan (at 2:58) that although raising taxes is not his preference for dealing with the nation's debt, "if it has to be the second best action, I'm open to hearing about it." In short, where I looked for an unequivocal refusal to raise taxes, Mitch Daniels went limp.

He's not doing much better on the issue of supporting Indiana's right to work law, as discussed by Allahpundit via HotAir.

This is What a Real Governor Looks Like

Mona Charen's piece on Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, and the prospect of him running for president, is bitter-sweet for Kentucky Republicans.

On the one hand, Daniels would be an outstanding president; conservatives are lucky that a man of such substance is even considering a run. America would be blessed.

On the other hand, for those of us who live just across the Ohio River from Indiana, Charen's profile reminds us how a competent governor can transform a state. The contrast between Daniels' record of achievement and Beshear's mediocrity could not be more stark.

Inheriting a $600 million deficit, Daniels transformed it into a $370 million surplus within one year, without raising taxes. "You'd be amazed how much government you'll never miss," he grins. Six years on, Indiana now enjoys a AAA bond rating, boasts the fewest state workers per capita in the nation, enjoys the third-highest private-sector job growth in the nation, has seen property taxes drop by an average of 30 percent, and was ranked first in the Midwest for business climate by the Tax Foundation. Daniels was named Public Official of the Year in 2008 by Governing magazine.

It isn't that he has simply accomplished economies. Daniels believes in improving government's performance -- cutting less important spending in favor of more important, and keeping close tabs on results. Under his leadership, the state has increased K-12 education funding by 12 percent, hired 800 new child welfare workers, added 150 more state troopers, provided free or reduced price medications to 288,000 Hoosiers through the Rx for Indiana program, reduced wait times at the DMV to fewer than eight minutes, funded a $10 billion infrastructure improvement plan to repair roads and bridges, and improved health care for the low-income through the Healthy Indiana Plan, which encouraged healthy behaviors (and which may be unsustainable if Obamacare is not repealed).

You did not misread: in Indiana, wait time at the DMV has been reduced to "fewer than eight minutes."

Compare that to a trip to the DMV in Kentucky, which is akin to walking on coals through hell.

I have governor envy. I want a real governor, like Mitch Daniels. Instead we get Steve Beshear, the seat warmer.

We can't have Daniels as governor. But we can have him as president.