海角大神

Mitch Daniels, Republican presidential nominee?

Once upon a time, that was a key Republican Party strategy to win back the White House from President Obama. The two-term Indiana governor decided early last year to not seek the party's nomination, but the wishful thinking has only deepened after Mr. Daniels' concise and reasoned GOP rebuttal Tuesday night to Mr. Obama's State of the Union address.

鈥淚 could hear sighs all over the country from Republicans [about] what might have been,鈥� conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer told Fox News late Tuesday. 鈥淭hat was one of the best speeches I鈥檝e heard 鈥� and I think it was one of the best presentations of the conservative idea against the larger government of Obama.鈥�

Such accolades have not yet been heaped upon the two front-runners in the Republican presidential race: former House speaker Newt Gingrich and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.聽

The first three GOP contests have not produced a definitive winner, and the Republican leadership, in picking Daniels to deliver the party's rebuttal on Tuesday, may be circling back to someone they perceive as able to 鈥渂ridge the gap鈥� between the far right faction of their party and the more doctrinaire establishment, says Bruce Buchanan, who teaches presidential politics and public policy at the University of Texas in Austin.

Daniels 鈥渟trikes people clearly as a grownup 鈥� [and] the fact [that the Republican Party] invited Daniels and he accepted most likely indicates some hopes of attracting him,鈥� Mr. Buchanan says.

Mr. Romney, who has a record as a moderate governor and whose Mormon faith is worrisome to evangelical 海角大神 conservatives, and Mr. Gingrich, who resigned as speaker and whose marital infidelities are no secret, are perceived in some quarters as flawed. Compared with them, Daniels is largely free of controversy, and he has a record of working with both parties and of taking pragmatic positions on fiscal and social issues. He is also 鈥渕ore comfortable in his own skin鈥� and 鈥減retty unflappable,鈥� which makes him less prone to gaffes than Romney or Gingrich, says Buchanan.

Daniels also spent time in Washington, as director of the White House Office of Management and Budget in the George W. Bush administration.

The national Republican Party courted Daniels for the 2012 race, but he bowed out last spring. His wife, Cheri Daniels, is reported to have vetoed the idea, citing privacy concerns. Mrs. Daniels and her husband divorced in 1993 and remarried four years later. In the interim, she married and divorced another man in California and was subsequently criticized for not sharing the responsibility of raising the four daughters with Daniels, a charge the governor publically said was false.

Today, those personal issues barely seem a liability, especially compared with Gingrich's marital record, says Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. The national party is returning to Daniels, he says, because it leaders suspect neither Romney nor Gingrich is capable of defeating Obama.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e in a mess. They don鈥檛 want Gingrich and they don鈥檛 like Romney. They pushed Daniels to begin with. I don鈥檛 know if anything鈥檚 changed,鈥� says Mr. Sabato.

At this point in the primary season, Daniels would need to be drafted as a nominee, a process that would involve the front-runner, either Romney or Gingrich, stepping down. That is an unlikely scenario.聽

Another potential roadblock is that Daniels, like Romney, will face accusations that he backtracks on issues, such as past statements he made about his disinterest in pursuing a so-called "right to work" law in Indiana. He now supports the legislation, designed to give workers the right to opt out of paying union dues 鈥� a move widely expected to undermine union organizing powers. It cleared the Indiana House late Wednesday.

Although Daniels is often described as a moderate for saying fiscal policy trumps social policy, his positions are 鈥渞ight in the mainstream of the conservative party,鈥� says Marjorie Hershey, a political scientist at Indiana University in Bloomington.

Ms. Hershey doubts Daniels will change his mind about running for president. His wife鈥檚 concerns about family privacy are as just as salient now as they were last year, she says.

鈥淎 cabinet post might be an option for him or perhaps an ambassadorship.鈥� However, I suspect he might be more at home on a corporate board and be done with all of this,鈥� Hershey says.

Any discussion of Daniels鈥� future in this year鈥檚 presidential race is 鈥渉ypothetical,鈥� although it is certain 鈥渉e鈥檒l play a role in the conversation,鈥� says Pete Seat, communications director for the Indiana Republican Party.

鈥淭he only reason that people are looking to him for guidance and for a vision is because of the results that we had in this state. We鈥檝e taken those policies that the candidates are talking about and actually putting them into use,鈥� Mr. Seat says.

One reason Daniels holds appeal for Republicans is an intangible one: He seems more authentic to voters than does the competition, says Seat. Daniels writes his own speeches, including Tuesday night鈥檚 rebuttal, and is known to be so close with the people in Indiana that he strikes up e-mail conversations with constituents and, when traveling, accepts invitations for overnight stays in their homes.

鈥淗e stays in the homes of Hoosiers when he travels around on the road. He鈥檚 sleeping in kids鈥� rooms with stuffed animals on the bed and Superman wallpaper," says Seat. "That鈥檚 how he keeps in contact with [his constituents]. He listens to people.鈥澛�