INDIANAPOLIS ? Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels said he will be looking to see whether 2012 presidential candidates are adequately addressing the nation's ballooning debt as he decides whether to enter the race for the Republican nomination.
"We don't know who the field is," Daniels told reporters at his Statehouse office last week. "We don't know exactly what they'll emphasize and what their depth of conviction and specificity of prescription will be about the problems that are bothering me, specifically the debt iceberg the nation's heading for."
Daniels said it could influence his decision if "somebody really grabs hold and is willing to deal openly and honestly with the American people about what we're up against" ? and offers a constructive way to get out. But Daniels said it's too soon to tell whether anybody fits that description.
No Republicans have officially announced campaigns for the 2012 nomination, but the field of contenders could include former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
Another Hoosier ? Rep. Mike Pence ? is also considering a run. Pence said after GOP victories in November that he was stepping down as the No. 3 House Republican leader and alluded to a potential bid for president or Indiana governor. He says he'll make a decision after Jan. 1.
Daniels said he's enjoying the fact that presidential campaigns aren't yet in full swing ? a contrast to the last presidential race when Republicans and Democrats jumped in just days after the 2006 midterm elections.
"I think it's a wonderful, merciful phenomenon that this particular race is starting at a more human, a more appropriate time for whatever reason," Daniels said. "The American people are being spared one of these three-year campaigns that we occasionally see. It's still probably going to be too long, but at least it hasn't started yet."
Daniels, who was federal budget director for President George W. Bush and a top White House aide to Ronald Reagan, has said for months that he has made no plans to run for president but simply agreed to keep the door open.
He says he's focused on Indiana and that he won't make a decision until after the General Assembly adjourns in April.
Daniels said running for governor ? which he said also wasn't his idea initially ? would be much different than running for president. That would involve leaving a state that "I lived in and planned to die in," Daniels said.
"It would involve dramatically greater sacrifice by my family," he said.
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