Gov. Daniels State of the State Address, This guy is good, he is very good!

IN.GOV ^

[Norman Bates]

I am firmly pro-life however I would tend to agree with Mitch Daniels. We are in dire straits and getting our fiscal house in order must be top priority. If good social legislation comes along here and there so be it; but that cannot be the priority. My problem with Mitch Daniels is that I don’t think he has what it takes to win the hearts & minds of the American people.

[campaignPete R-CT]

I find it a bit odd that by discussing Mitch, everyone is apt to think we are encouraging others to support him. My reaction to the speech was not to run out and jump on his bandwagon.

My observation was that he will make a splash early in this race and, therefore, will change the script that many are expecting. The current expectation from many is that MITT will do well early, win NH, and stay in the race to the convention as one of the leading 2 candidates.

I saw the potential in Daniels ... that he could be the one that knocks Romney right out the race by running ahead of him in early states (challenging him in NH). The GOP establishment & RINOs may flock to him ... certainly many of those folks don’t care for Romney and have been looking for somebody new. (George Will was giddy introducing and listening to Daniels.) Obviously, many of them are anti-Palin, but they are quietly anti-Mitt. A lot of McCain support amoung party people could have been described as a stop-Romney effort.