After taking a number of steps that seemed to be leading to a national campaign, Gov. Mitch Daniels’ decision not to seek the presidency seemed surprising. In retrospect, those steps were apparently testing the waters rather than preparing to jump in.
For many Hoosiers and Daniels supporters beyond Indiana, the decision was both understandable and disappointing. Daniels had said all along that he wouldn’t run without his family’s approval, and he was quite clear that approval was not going to happen.
While numerous Republicans weighed in on the Daniels decision, Indiana Democratic Chairman Dan Parker’s reaction is worth noting: “We’ve disagreed with Mitch Daniels myriad times, but there’s no doubt that his decision not to enter this race is a loss for Republicans. Daniels would have brought a serious tone to a GOP field that’s thus far been characterized by silliness and distraction.”
Silliness, thy name is Donald Trump. Newt Gingrich? The distraction.
Many Republicans hoped that the party would get real, and Daniels would be the candidate to do so.
Had he been the GOP nominee, Daniels would have surely waged a competitive campaign against President Obama, and – more so than most other Republicans in the running – won the votes of political independents and even some moderate Democrats.
But winning the nomination was no guarantee.
Despite the need to select a candidate with widespread appeal, many Republicans seem intent on choosing a candidate from the far right, someone who would be very popular among tea party Republicans in the primaries – and have a much lesser chance of winning than Mitch Daniels or someone like him.
Daniels made it clear that the national debt is the nation’s worst problem. What did Daniels see when the very conservative Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn was castigated for making the very common-sense, realistic argument that balancing the budget will require not only stiff budget cuts but more federal revenue as well? And Coburn even made it clear he doesn’t want to raise tax rates but to create an economic climate where more taxes are paid in.
When Daniels suggested that the debt is such a huge issue that social issues should be placed on the back burner, he was brutally criticized by far-right commentators such as Rush Limbaugh, who has no small effect on the GOP.
Hoosiers know that Daniels is a bona fide conservative – both fiscally and socially – yet Limbaugh cast him as the choice of the left.
Earlier this month, Limbaugh criticized Daniels for suggesting the government would bring in more revenue if it closed some tax loopholes.
“We don’t need more revenues, folks, we need less spending! … We need less spending. And I, by the way, I still want Obama to fail, lest there be any doubt.”
