My Man Mitch

Even if he hasn't decided, I know it's true; Mitch Daniels will run for President.

After a second appearance on a Sunday morning show in as many weeks, keynoting a night at CPAC and the Gridiron Club dinner, and writing Op-Eds appearing in the likes of The Wall Street Journal, Daniels is intentionally gaining national exposure your typical Governor never seeks.  Unlike most other candidates, there isn't another possible candidate in the mix that competes for Daniels' natural base of support.  Romney and Huntsman overlap.  Palin, Huckabee, and the run of other social conservatives overlap.  I contend that Gingrich, Barbour, and Pawlenty overlap a core constituency as well.

I also think Daniels has a gift that will allow voters to connect with him in the early primary states.  He is humble, not larger than life.  At CPAC, he took time to speak to about 50 students when he arrived, free from any media or big donors.  He was frank and honest.  His speech was serious and steady.  He has a unique message, not an anti-Obama drivel that falls from the lips of others.  Most importantly, he will not run simply because he want's to be the President, but because he has something to offer.

Lastly, some jokes from his recent Gridiron Club address;

Daniels, who gave the Republican response, invoked the sling he wore thanks to recent rotator-cuff surgery. He mentioned Obama’s comment during the 2008 campaign about conservatives seeking religion and guns as touchstones.

“Mr. President, until I get this thing off, I can cling to my gun or my Bible but not both,” Daniels quipped.

The Indiana governor, who is considering a run for the White House, also joked about the president’s widely-reported use of written texts at big events, saying, “Mr. President you’re not laughing, who forgot to put ha-ha-ha on the teleprompter?”

But Daniels saved some of his harshest jabs for his potential Republican primary rivals.

Daniels poked both Palin and Mike Huckabee with a single punch, raising the former Arkansas governor’s gaffe in which he claimed inaccurately more than once that the president grew up in Kenya.

“Sarah Palin pounces and says, ‘Wrong, Mike — he’s never been to Europe,”

Daniels/Christie 2010