I‘ll leave it to others to speculate about whether Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels’ decision to sign a bill defunding Planned Parenthood makes it more likely he’s going to run for president. But should he decide to run, there’s no doubt that this action will help his chances considerably in the Republican primary.
One of the biggest obstacles Daniels will have to overcome if he seeks the presidency is comments he made calling for a “truce” on social issues given the emergency of our debt crisis. I thought the criticisms were slightly unfair, if only because he was merely stating explicitly what most other Republicans were doing explicitly — prioritizing economic and fiscal issues over social issues. But Daniels hurt himself by digging in, and avoided many chances to clarify or walk back his remarks.
