Gov. Daniels No Longer a Presidential Contender

Governor Mitch Daniels of Indiana has shown up on most "short lists" of contenders for the 2012 Republican nomination for the presidency. He just fell of my list with his recent comments:

Daniels told the conservative publication the next president "would have to call a truce on the so-called social issues."

"We're going to just have to agree to get along for a little while," by casting social issues like abortion aside so the next president can focus on fixing the beleaguered economy.

Many politicians will take positions based on calculations over how it will play with the electorate. I'm sure that is true of some "pro-life" politicians. The easiest way to tell how strongly a politician holds a position is by seeing how quickly they modify their stance. If Daniels believes we "just have to agree to get along for a while" on an issue that decent people consider a grave evil and as great a stain on our nation as slavery then I doubt he was ever pro-life except out of political expediency. His contention that social issues like abortion should be put on the back burner because of economic concerns does not hold water. Economic troubles will come and go. True beliefs would not be put aside over temporary issues.

Good thing we didn't have someone like Daniels instead of Lincoln. Could you imagine Lincoln saying "I'd really like to confront evil in our time, but gee unemployment is at 11%. How low does the unemployment rate need to be for Daniels to hold true to his "beliefs?"