Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels is, without question, the best friend motorcycling has ever had in Indiana state government.
He's also the best governor we've had since I've been politically aware, and that goes back to the mid-1950s.
Mitch rode his custom painted (state flag logo on the tank) Harley-Davidson in the Indianapolis 500 Festival Parade last month and he invited a dozen members of the Patriot Guard Riders to escort him. And he wore a yellow PGR amrband for the occasion.
I've had a couple of conversations with Mitch about motorcycling and other things and was struck by how natural and genuine the guy is. I've met a lot of politicians in my 34-year career in newspaper journalism and have no difficulty spotting a phony. Mitch, however, is the real deal. No flash. No spin. No hype. Just a straight-ahead guy who wants to do his best for the electorate. He's no stranger to government, having been chief political advisor to Pres. Ronald Reagan, and director of the Office of Management and Budget under Pres. George W. Bush. He also readily admits spending a couple of nights in jail for a marijuana possession bust when he was in college.
Mitch is inviting Hoosier motorcyclists to take a ride with him Friday and Saturday as he tours north central Indiana.
The ride leaves the west side of the State House at 11 a.m. Friday for Kokomo and South Bend, then makes stops on Saturday in Valparaiso and Merrillville.
I plan to ride at least as far as Kokomo and maybe on to South Bend and have suggested that my friends in the Indianapolis BMW Club come along.
The event is sponsored by ABATE of Indiana, a motorcycle rights group that also operates a rider training program that offers the Motorcycle Safety Foundation's RiderCourse. I was an instructor in the ABATE program for 10 years in the '80s and '90s.
If you ride and have Friday or Saturday open, come on along.
2 comments:
You cannot be serious. Mitch is about the worst politician to flame the earth since his step father George Bush. He refuses to listen to his constituents. Causes rampant partisanship and may be the worst governor we have ever had. Clearly you have been fooled by his motorcycle shenanigans as were many who saw him ride around in his RV wearing a flannel shirt. It takes more than a motorcycle and RV to make someone a good servant of the people let alone a good person. Do NOT BE FOOLED! DITCH MITCH!!!
I hate to break it to you, Sparky, but the rampant partisanship is a sad and probably permanent feature of the Indiana political landscape.
Mitch scares the hell out of Democrats because the people like him.
He listens closely to his constituents. I just got a personal response to an e-mail to his office this afternoon.
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