Monday, September 19, 2011

Daniels Not Enchanted By GOP Field

From Politico ~ Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, the heartthrob of conservative elites who ultimately opted against a run, signaled his clear lack of love for the current crop of 2012 presidential candidates in an interview with Zeleny as he started promoting a book:
His decision to stay out of the race played a role in Mr. Perry’s decision to announce his intentions last month. Mr. Daniels said the rise of Mr. Perry’s candidacy suggested that it remained possible for another Republican candidate — he declined to say who — to still consider running for the party’s nomination.
“He proved it wasn’t too late — I don’t think it’s too late yet,” Mr. Daniels said, noting that he had “tried to recruit three or four people.”
He added, “In the wired world we’re in, somebody new could get in.”
Daniels, who wowed the CPAC crowd last February by calling the nation's debt the "new Red menace," also suggested that the "Ponzi scheme" rhetoric going round in the primary right now only addresses half the issue, and he suggested Perry needs to go further:
Mr. Perry has questioned the constitutionality of the program, which he has referred to as a “Ponzi scheme” and a “monstrous lie.” Mr. Romney has seized on those remarks as a main distinction between the two men, but he has devoted more time to criticizing Mr. Perry’s statements than to outlining his own ideas for the program.
“I don’t think any of this is very helpful,” Mr. Daniels said. “If there’s a problem with ‘Ponzi scheme,’ it is that it’s too frank, not that it’s wrong. But by stopping there, he might be unnecessarily scaring people.”

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