A guy named Mitch

THERE'S BEEN breathless speculation by the usual suspects that Mitch Daniels, Indiana's Republican governor, will make a 2012 bid for the presidency. Daniels, 61, is only lukewarm to the idea (he knows Obama is basically unbeatable). If forced at gunpoint to vote for a Republican in 2012, sure, I'd pick Daniels (with Jon Huntsman as VP). Though Daniels isn't my cup of tea politically, he is learned (Princeton, Georgetown Law), moderate, pragmatic, trustworthy and refreshingly normal (unlike the usual slate of egotists - Palin, Gingrich, etc. - who preen obsessively for high office). The unassuming Daniels is also the polar opposite of Obama in the charisma department (i.e., he is as exciting as drying paint). Taken together, this means Daniel wouldn't have a snowball's chance in Hell of securing the GOP nomination, a contest presently rigged for neurotics. But if Daniels were magically elected anyway, I could probably sleep most nights. But I doubt he'll run. He seemed to confirm my suspicions during a recent interview on the PBS News Hour. When asked for his views about the US intervention in Libya, Daniels replied, "Indiana does not have a foreign policy." Al-righty then. The prosecution rests.