Another day, another Village mash note to Mitch Daniels. I don’t think Daniels has the natural charisma or the instincts to win this particular primary, so for the sake of the Villagers’ delicate hearts, I hope he doesn’t run.
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BGinCHI
It’s like they’re hoping for a quality opponent for Roger Federer in the finals of the US Open because they have front-row seats. A slaughter wouldn’t be fun to watch, would end early, and they’d waste their prime vantage point.
It doesn’t matter what the guy does off the court, as long as he can compete in the one thing they’re part of.
I wish we could directly measure the consequences of media irresponsibility.
Jazz Superluminar
What? No link to the Bearded One? You’re letting the side down…
You see, serious! Because highways hahaha.
Scott
@BGinCHI:
I wish we could directly measure the consequences of media irresponsibility.
There’s always the Iraq Body Count…
geg6
Fuck. Sully is gonna be in full wigout over his new true love, Mitch. I really don’t think I can take it. In fact, the whole idea of Village mash notes to Daniels is like Santorum only worse. Hell, it might be worse than Fukushima.
Mark S.
Now I’m not saying I want to marry Mitch Daniels, but spending an entire column blowing him will make my husband realize how much he really loves me.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Oy. It’s fascinating, in a reading about the Black Plague or the effect of grape shot in the Civil War kind of fascinating way, to see how Marcus (a Fred Hiatt Liberal) discusses his resume:
So, there’s a lot of fat (Waste! Fraud! Abuse!) in the federal budget. Mitch “knows” where it is. Ruth “knows” it’s there, she just doesn’t “know” where it is, apparently, but “knows” that Mitch will tell us. Four paragraphs later, she finally mentions Daniels actual tenure, and dismisses its importance
Cause state budgets are no different from the federal budget, also, too! I didn’t even know Broder had taught classes in Republican Apologist Punditry
Baron Jrod of Keeblershire
I only wish getting rid of the villagers was so easy. Unfortunately, I think their charred, tar-filled hearts will hold out while they praise the seriousness of the Romney/Palin ticket.
Nutella
I know everything’s OK if you’re a Republican but this guy was a drug dealer in college, was president of Eli Lilly when it pled guilty to crimes and paid billions in fines, and was in charge of the budget when the deficit went from zero to humongous. Do these huge negatives mean nothing at all?
Violet
They want to be the center of attention and the only way that happens is if the 2012 race is a close, exciting one. So they’re trying to make it happen.
As for a love letter to Mitch, it’s like when one of your friends has a crush on someone who is not only woefully wrong for them, but not really a very great catch by any standard. And your friend spends a lot of time trying to convince you why this person is so fantastic. And you and your entire social group keep trying to figure out what your friend sees in this person, but you just can’t. The person just isn’t that great. You really hope your friend gets over him/her because you’re getting pretty sick of hearing about this idiot.
Gravie
The Post also ran a 165-column-inch article (I’m guessing; it was loooooong)on Daniels and his wife (she calls the shots!). It began on the front of the Style section and continued at great length inside, maybe on the same day as the Marcus column — I don’t even read the Post op-ed section anymore so I’m not sure.
TominNOLA
Let us all remember that Mitch Daniels is short, has an A-RAB in his family, and his wife cuckolded him with some dude and then came back and remarried him when the fun was over. I don’t hold any of these things against him but the lizard-brained Teatards certainly will.
ChrisS
If Mitch Daniels came out and said he wanted to suspend government spending everywhere, halve the DoD budget, and boost the ever-loving shit out of renewable & nuclear R&D on energy development while prioritizing rebuilding America’s infrastructure to include the power grid and rail while restoring the Clinton era tax structure. I’d vote for his ass in a NY minute.
But unfortunately, he’s going to out-Norquist Norquist and pander to the Fox News/TeaTard contingent so he can further cut taxes on the richest 1%.
NonyNony
Depends on how the analysis of the loss of Winner Take All in the early part of the GOP primary works out.
If, as some suggest, the early GOP primary ends up splitting delegates all over the place, Daniels could potentially play the tortoise and become the candidate the crazies “settle” for once it becomes obvious that none of the candidates the crazies have their hearts set on actually have enough support to win.
Romney is hoping to be that guy, I think. Daniels could upset his applecart.
We’ll see though – the tortoise maneuver depends on the crazies going all-out against each other. If a Messiah figure comes along that they can all rally behind and push early on the tortoise maneuver flops. It also depends on the candidate being able to maintain that kind of slow burn on his funds – I suspect Romney can do it, Daniels I’m not so sure of. And it depends on them getting actual support in the first part of the campaign – if Daniels shows up with Giulianni or Fred Thompson like numbers in the early primaries, I doubt he’d be able to make it work.
ChrisS
@TominNOLA:
I don’t hold any of these things against him but the lizard-brained Teatards certainly will.
As long as he promises to cut the taxes of the wealthy they’ll forgive him for all other republican sins. They’re nothing if not predictable.
Villago Delenda Est
This guy was the deserting coward’s budget expert. That means his fingerprints are on the cut taxes for the parasite overclass/let’s fight two fucking wars “off budget” scam of the deserting coward.
He isn’t fit to be a fucking dogcatcher.
Bob Loblaw
@Nutella:
Considering the current and previous presidents were posh coke heads in their youth, I think we’re beyond giving a shit about drugs.
Also, something something Sully Sully Sully Sully Sully Sully Sully Sully Sully Sully Sully Sully Sully Sully Sully Sully…
WereBear
And you wonder why people become Republican!
MattF
Well. First of all, the most recent occasion on which Republicans nominated a responsible adult was… Ha ha ha.
Whew. Second of all, the likelihood that Daniels really is a responsible adult, given that he was Bush’s budget director, is… Ha ha ha.
Teehee. Oh, and third of all, in case anyone hasn’t noticed, we’ve already got an adult, responsible, intelligent Republican president.
Nutella
@WereBear:
Yeah, after I wrote that, I thought of GWB’s resume. If that was good enough to get someone elected then Daniel’s a shoo-in.
cat48
Sly
I want their fantasies shattered. I want them distraught and crying on the floor as they frantically try to reassemble the pieces back together, like a four-year-old who just broke their favorite toy.
And it’s not because I think that’s the only way they’ll learn. It’s because they deserve it.
Hunter Gathers
But Mitch Daniels balanced Indiana’s budget 4 years in a row without raising taxes! If you don’t count sales tax. The stimulus money he opposed and yet accepted doesn’t count either. And pay no attention to the fact that Indiana owes the fed billions, which Daniels really, really hopes that the fed forgets about.
But other than that, Mitch ‘I have the charisma of a can of tuna, ask my wife who cuckolded me’ Daniels is the perfect Beltway candidate.
Culture of Truth
Since he created it, who better
cmorenc
@Bob Loblaw:
Assuming for argument that drugs-in-college episodes are relevant and if so, there are different levels of involvement and culpability, exactly what would the appropriate gradient be to discriminate between much-ado-about-nothing vs (should-be forgivable) youthful indiscretions vs more serious or prolonged commercial or hard-drug involvement vs sociopathic, perhaps even predatory criminality (perhaps even to an extent offending libertarian sensibilities?)
Of course, the lazy, easy way is to simply say ALL this stuff was illegal and the youthful perp knew it at the time and moreal/political culpability should roughly parallel the relevant criminal law. However, few of us (except for some hard-asses out there, many of whom might prove to be hypocritical if the skeletons in their youthful closets were ever exposed) believe it either is, or should be anything remotely near that simple.
So, where does Obama/Clinton/Bush fall according to your standard on this? Rush Limbaugh? Mitch Daniels?
cat48
Time clearly has a crush on Jon Huntsman so he may be the official Beltway candidate soon!
cmorenc
@Culture of Truth:
Well, to be fair, Daniels had a bit of help with creating that debt, quite substantial help. But nonetheless he was a willing key participant.
ed
Sterling credentials.
ThatLeftTurnInABQ
@TominNOLA:
That’s political obituary material right there. The rest is just details. We tend to spend so much time arguing on this blog about policy and messaging that we forget some simple truths about optics in the most literal sense. Short men don’t get elected President. Height is a huge advantage for a candidate, especially in 1 on 1 (or 2 or 3) situation like a debate stage.
Keith
He lacks the height,too. The optics matter…especially to Republicans.
bemused
Using charisma and Mitch Daniels in the same sentence is a travesty.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@TominNOLA: Things to remember indeed. But he’s a short Arab who looks white, so all bets are off. Just shoot me now.
@bemused: Charisma and Mitch Daniels are a couple of things that rarely collide in the same sentence, and certainly do not do so often (at all?) in real life. (The opening part was shamelessly stolen from – I believe – Larry McMurtry).
maya
That’s a plus in the Teabangelical presidential marketplace because only through dealing drugs was he able to meet Jesus who showed him how to score the old man’s fatted calf.
Culture of Truth
Fair enough. But he’s built his reputation on being an budget director, so his record should be looked at.
Zifnab
Will Daniels even run in ’12? I think, after Operation Headshot, a fair bit of ammo is spent for the GOP. Running out the “weak on terror” card won’t work, so they’ll be forced to run on the economy. And the GOP in the House haven’t exactly been stellar role models of fiscal responsibility, what with the RyanSmash! budget bill being their signature legislation.
I could see Mitch as a VP candidate in ’12, to set up an eventual run in ’16. But I’m honestly not seeing a run in ’12. Not when Romney, Gingrich, and Bachmann are going to be sucking up all the oxygen in the room.
ThatLeftTurnInABQ
@Zifnab:
For the most part I agree with this, but I think you’ll see the GOP continue to run with “weak on terror” because for them that is like buying Powerball lottery tickets. You only have to get lucky once. If some sort of attack occurs just in time to be an October surprise, that could be worth 5 points to a GOP candidate who’s prepared the ground. And I suspect that AQ, et al are savvy enough about US politics at this point to know that they want Obama out of office and will time their efforts accordingly.
gene108
@Nutella:
Barack Obama tried COCAINE and MARIJUANA!!!
No one mentioned it during the campaign or mentions it now. He was also a chain smoker, until a couple of months ago, but no one showed him puffing away on his smokes.
Both sides have coke heads running for office.
Why single out Daniels? Why is the liberal media protecting Obama’s dirty secrets?
(/end right-wing rant approximation)
Bulworth
I am pretty impressed with how Daniels has managed his state’s two international wars and ongoing Middle East occupations. And all the R&D his state carries out, and with all the funds he must come up with for border protection, disaster relief, employer-sponsored health insurance subsidies and mortgage interest tax deductions.
But seriously, you mean when Daniels ran the OMB he wasn’t actually in charge of the OMB?
Bulworth
@Gravie: I believe that was yesterday in the Style section, the same day the NYT ran a front-pager on Daniels.
Paul in KY
@Culture of Truth: FTW!
4jkb4ia
Political Wire has, via CBS News, that both Christie and Walker have said they will endorse Daniels if he runs. FYI.
Paul in KY
@cat48: I don’t think Huntsman could get thru the primaries. I think Daniels could.
I think Huntsman would be a better, more sane candidate. Which is why he’s fucked twelve ways from Sunday when it comes to getting the nomination.
Paul in KY
@ThatLeftTurnInABQ: President Kerry is shaking his head at your remarks.
I generally agree with your points, but sometimes it doesn’t work out that way.
Paul in KY
@a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): I will say that he looks ‘folksy’ and he can string blather together like a seasoned TV evengalist.
I wouldn’t underestimate him. Hadn’t heard about the wife & drug dealing & Eli Lilly stuff. He may not run due to that.
Nutella
@gene108:
If he’d just been a drug user in college he wouldn’t be much different from Bush, Clinton, Obama, etc. But Daniels seems to have been a dealer which you would think the anti-drug types would see as shocking. But they won’t since he was a Republican drug dealer.
Cris (without an H)
Mitch Daniels was a dealer? of what?
ThatLeftTurnInABQ
@Cris (without an H):
Crystal deficits.
Call him Mitch ‘Breaking Bad on the Potomac‘ Daniels.
Phil
Don’t forget his OMB projections on the costs for the Iraq War and Medicare part D that were way way WAY WAY WAY way off the mark.
DanF
What’s amazing is that Daniels is treated as a serious candidate when Republican governors in other Midwest states are getting pillared for attempting to pass the same agenda HE HAS ALREADY PASSED.
End collective bargaining? Check.
School vouchers? Check.
De-fund Planned Parenthood? Check.
Arizona style immigration reform? Check (just this morning, thanks).
Outsourcing government functions? Check-o-rooney.
Reduce state regulatory apparatus? Check.
Alter the state constitution to make gay marriage illegal? Not a done deal, but it’s cleared the first big hurdle.
And yet he’s not a “radical”.
Ghanima Atreides
Daniels is five foot three.
Not going to happen.
But who have they got?
Romney and Huntsman are mormons, Bachman is psychotic, Palin is a retard and Gingrich is a serial divorcer.
Huckabee?
It is to laff.
There is no one that unifies the legs of the conservative stool, the fiscal cons (bankstahs and libertarians) and the socons (teabaggers and jesushumpers).
Unless Obama foolishly makes a cowardly dash to GTFO of A-stan before Nov 2012, the neocons are SooL too.
Nutella
@Cris (without an H):
He was caught with a lot of marijuana, more than enough for personal use.
He paid a $350 fine.
Link for quote.