But he’s not running, a victim of his ability to put both feet in his mouth on the national stage and the self-righteous stupidity of one segment of the Party. I recall the frequent epithets hurled at Mitch Daniels when he was considering getting into the fray, and often as not “RINO” was the least of the accusations.

From the Washington Times yesterday…

As Washington stares at rising national debt and projected deficits for years to come, many states are faced with the opposite problem: whether to spend their budget surpluses and, if so, on what.

At least a dozen states ended fiscal 2011 with surpluses. Indiana reported one of the largest, with an extra $1.2 billion in its accounts. Gov. Mitch Daniels, a Republican, on Friday authorized bonus payments of up to $1,000 for state employees. An employee who “meets expectations” will get $500, those who “exceed expectations” will receive $750 and “outstanding workers” will see an extra $1,000 in their August paychecks.

“No state anywhere comes close to Indiana’s record of spending tax dollars carefully, with total savings over the last six years in the billions. Your spending efficiency has enabled us to stay in the black even as revenues plummeted,” said Mr. Daniels, who recently flirted with a run for the White House but ultimately stayed out of the race.

I’m the first to point the finger at Daniels ability to make ill-conceived statements. But there is no better record of accomplishment out there than his. On fiscal matters AND on social concerns like abortion. It’s unfortunate that we don’t have room for highly credible and extraordinarily competent and conservative Governors like Daniels.
We seem to be looking for someone with marginal accomplishments who can whip up the base.