Mitch Daniels Won't Run For President

Louisville Courier-Journal:

Gov. Mitch Daniels told supporters overnight that family considerations have led him to decide against running for president, despite pressure to run from top Republicans nationally.

“In the end, I was able to resolve every competing consideration but one,” Daniels said in the e-mail. “The interests and wishes of my family is the most important consideration of all. If I have disappointed you, I will always be sorry.”

The decision comes roughly two years after he ran an ad in his gubernatorial re-election campaign promising that he would never seek another public office. And the governor’s move follows months of mulling over a race he has publicly said he never sought or wanted.

While I'm not really with the Mitch Daniels program, I would have liked to have seen him run, since he generally seemed to be somebody who would recognize that taxes must go up to help solve our budget problems.  He didn't square well with the mouth breathers of the Republican base, who were hopefully raptured up to Heaven last night.  That doesn't leave many non-idiot potential nominees for the Republican candidacy.  Right now, I would guess John Huntsman would be the best option, but I think he's really setting up to run in 2016, when many people think a moderate might have a chance after Republicans drive the crazy car off of a cliff in 2012.  I guess we'll see what comes about, but I think it appears unlikely that sanity will break loose in the Republican party in the next 18 months.