President 2012: Mitch Daniels Thinks He Can Beat President Obama

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels says he thinks he could beat President Barack Obama in 2012. He just hasn’t decided whether he’ll try.

The Republican governor said Tuesday his chances of beating Obama would be “quite good,” but that’s not factoring into his deliberations on a White House run. He spoke to reporters after giving public service awards to state employees.

Daniels’ comments came a week after he said he wasn’t ready to debate Obama on foreign policy. They also appeared to break with a public image he’s crafted of a reluctant and self-deprecating politician.

He quickly returned to form, saying any Daniels campaign might “break down” because of him but not because of a lack of high-quality support.

Notice he did not say a generic Republican can beat Obama.

Mitch is going to run and he will announce at an opportune time or just run like Rudy Giuliani did in 2008 without a formal announcement.