Tuesday, Oct. 28,2008 10:59 p.m.
The race for the governor’s mansion has been, perhaps, the most
difficult to decide. Unlike so many races in Indiana, voters have been
presented with two competent candidates, both capable of executing the
executive’s tasks. Moreover, it’s not clear either candidate would do
much more than that.
Mitch Daniels has not done a despicable job as governor. Most
impressively, he has abolished the good-ol’ boy style of management
that marked eight years of the Frank O’Bannon and Joseph Kernan
administrations. In office, Daniels has professionally transformed more
than $600 million of deficit into a substantial surplus.
But neither Jill Long Thompson nor Daniels is running on a platform of
serious change or upheaval. Rather, each takes a relatively moderate
approach likely to appeal to traditional voters. In this hard time and
in stagnant Indiana, we would like to hear braver, more ambitious
rhetoric from both.
While the candidates themselves stand out for their scholastic
excellence and professional preparedness – Daniels graduated from
Princeton and Georgetown and was an Eli Lilly executive while Long
Thompson holds a Ph.D. from IU and served as undersecretary of
agriculture in the Clinton administration – their lieutenant governor
choices leave much to be desired.
