Maybe Mitch

It is beginning to look more and more like Governor Mitch Daniels of Indiana will be throwing his hat into the ring for the 2012 GOP Presidential nomination. While an announcement is still likely a few weeks away, he is already getting probable endorsements from some pretty prominent GOPers, like this nod from Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey.

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels is no media darling. He seems to be equally a target for both the left and right these days, and that may work to his advantage even more than his conserable record for toeing the fiscal line. Watching the press on Governor Daniels for the last few weeks has been much like watching a ping pong game. His twitter mentions are much the same. Why the back and forth? Simple, because he, much like Rep. Paul Ryan, is a man with a plan.

By now, most have heard that Daniels has called for what amounts to a moratorium on addressing social issues. While this stance has angered many hardline Republicans, it can really be our only stragey for curing the most pressing ailment of this country: our out of control spending and massive public debt. Pundits on the left and right have both pointed to the deficit increase during Daniel’s tenure as U.S. Director of the Office of Management and Budget (2001-03), but outside of his already thrilled supporters, few have mentioned his long list of achievement inline with the most Conservative agenda in decades.

Despite his mellow demeanor and apparent lack of charisma, Daniels has managed to take Indiana from being a state deeply in debt to one with a consistently balanced budget. He also has recently signed hard line immigration legislation, will soon sign legislation banning tax dollar use for abortions, and has taken the lead in this country on education reform . If you are looking for the anti-Obama, with a shot of wooing the center right AND the center left ( which means an actual change to make Big O a Big Zero) , then Mitch is an obvious choice.

If you haven’t been following, his fans aren’t just politicians and certain Twisters tweeters. Governor Daniels has been urged to run by quite a few student groups. Students for Daniels has been actively supporting him since January. In February, Yale students ran a media spot urging the Governor to run. If the future of our country seem to think he can give Obama a run for his money, isn’t he worth checking out?

Update: On May 22, Mitch Daniels announced he would not run for President in 2012.