MORE BUZZ FOR MITCH – AT 9:01 A.M. ET:  Political buzz around Republican Governor Mitch Daniels of Indiana is increasing.  It's perfectly clear that Republicans aren't pleased with the 2012 offerings they're getting, and are looking elsewhere.  From The Politico:

In a wide open field, the GOP governor’s name keeps popping up despite the fact that — unlike many other potential candidates — he hasn’t aggressively promoted himself. Daniels hasn’t recently visited Iowa or New Hampshire, and his name isn’t always surveyed by national pollsters looking at the prospective field.

Daniels, however, has a following among those Republicans more focused on budget cuts than abortion and attracted to business acumen rather than ideology.

And...

“Daniels’s appeal is this — he’s the no BS candidate, the no-frills guy who doesn’t come off as a PR firm executive and intentionally doesn’t speak in poll-tested sound bites,” veteran Republican pollster Curt Anderson said. “Against the backdrop of the current president, this gives him tremendous appeal; that and the fact that he has an accomplished record as governor.”

With conservatives still sampling the unsettled 2012 field, Daniels’s two terms as governor have caught the attention of both Washington insiders and grass-roots leaders looking for competence and managerial skills, along with the political ability to compete against President Barack Obama.

Since Daniels became governor in 2004, Indiana has turned its $200 million deficit into a $1.3 billion surplus, paid all outstanding debts, doubled venture capital investment in the state and increased employment. All while reducing the number of government jobs in the state by about 15 percent by not filling vacant positions.

And...

Those close to Daniels say his casual Midwestern mien will prove to be an advantage over some of his prospective GOP opponents.

“Mitch’s appeal comes largely because he’s willing to talk to voters as adults,” Indiana Republican Party Chairman J. Murray Clark told POLITICO. “He doesn’t shy away from tackling big issues, and he doesn’t talk down when he explains his policies for tackling them.”

“The idea that someone who has worked at the highest levels of business and government could also so deeply and personally understand the feelings of everyday real people is a combination [that] makes for a unique capacity to lead,” Clark said. “He’s also willing to admit if something doesn’t work out the way he planned, and he course corrects from there. That forthrightness and adherence to results-driven policies earns him a lot of respect, even from people who may disagree ideologically.”

COMMENT:  The key here is that competence has to be sold.  Daniels is genuine, and his record is solid.  However, he isn't the most interesting speaker, and he's got to make his plain-spoken style an asset, and not get lost in the crowd.  He has a Calvin Coolidge quality.

Is he the "somebody" to beat the "almost somebody" in the White House?  He's surfacing now, and will be tested.  There's a big fundraiser planned for him in Washington.  That's his coming-out party.

June 9, 2010