I’ve been watching Mitch Daniels’s career as governor of Indiana with great interest for the last few years.  I was impressed by his election in 2004 and then his 18-point margin of victory in 2008, a very tough year to have an “R” next to your name.  Daniels is a true fiscal conservative and effective decision-maker.  Andrew Ferguson recently wrote a terrific profile of Daniels in the latest issues of The Weekly Standard.  His achievements in Indiana have been impressive:

When Daniels took office, in 2004, the state faced a $200 million deficit and hadn’t balanced its budget in seven years. Four years later, all outstanding debts had been paid off; after…