Daniels

I've thought for a while that Mitch Daniels would make a good Presidential candidate. The best candidates for the GOP will be the anti-Obamas. That rules out Romney (too good-looking and too unwilling to attack his own health care reform in Massachusetts). That elevates Daniels and Christie. Both are dramatically less elegant and Ivy-League than the President and both have a track record for fiscal responsibility. It looks like Daniels will run. i think Christie will run if no one jumps out early. He will be "talked into" running.

UPDATE: Bret asks in the comments:

Would he make a good president? Or just a good presidential candidate? Obama was a great presidential candidate, but maybe not such a great president.

I deliberately wrote "candidate" in the post. Whoever is the next President is going to run on fiscal responsibility. If that is a winning platform, that candidate will find a willing Congress. So the best candidate for the GOP will be the candidate who can sell that theme most effectively. I suspect Obama will be selling the same theme. He will find it harder to sell.