Mitch Daniels: The Anti-Obama?

My spirits are a bit lighter this morning because it appears my motorcycle riding friend Mitch Daniels is getting more and more recognition.

Here’s an editorial by Tracy Warner at the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette that appeared in today’s paper:

Gov. Mitch Daniels’ rising profile on the national political stage has caused Hoosiers to wonder whether he is positioning himself for a run for higher office, something the guv adamantly denies.

A clue to his real goal may have appeared in a Sunday New York Times commentary by political writer John Hardwood about whether the GOP should continue to hold up Ronald Reagan as the personification of its goals. In quoting Daniels, Harwood referred to him as “a Republican who lately has emerged as a potential national party leader.”

Daniels isn’t necessarily striving to be the chairman of the national GOP, and only the governor knows his true motivation.

But if Republicans have to choose Newt Gingrich, Rush Limbaugh or Mitch Daniels as their national standard-bearer, Daniels can help the party most.

In Daniels, Republicans have a governor whose policies have placed an economically vulnerable Rust Belt state highly dependent on the auto industry in better fiscal position than almost every other state.

Much of his accomplishment comes from using tactics the party has long supported, namely privatization and diminishing the power of unions.

Indiana’s fiscal position gives Daniels credibility that so many other national Republicans lack, considering the party controlled the presidency and both houses of Congress while running up record debt.

At the same time he leads on fiscal conservatism, Daniels has avoided stepping into the rhetoric of social conservatism. He stayed in the background, for example, when Indiana lawmakers debated a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and a proposal to require doctors who perform abortions to have hospital privileges.

Daniels is an astute politician, and he realizes – just as Democrats like Evan Bayh and Bill Clinton understood – a strong message of fiscal restraint appeals to moderates from both parties, while strong positions on extremely divisive social issues turn off the political center. He also senses that the majority that elected President Obama is turned off by messages of hate and extremism – the messages Limbaugh and Gingrich preach daily.

With Obama spending enormous amounts of money on unprecedented bailouts of labor-intensive industries that may or may not work, fiscal conservatism is a  ripe issue for Republicans. Daniels has learned to appeal to both white-collar and blue-collar voters, and he can speak fiscal conservatism with authority and credibility.

Yes, he occasionally delivers red meat to the hard-right faithful, and yes, he occasionally has bursts of temper that belie that “aw, shucks” image he has worked so hard on. But having Daniels emerge as a leading national party authority would do much to improve the level of political discourse.

Tracy Warner, editorial page editor, has worked at The Journal Gazette since 1981. He can be reached at 461-8113 or by e-mail, twarner@jg.net.