Mitch Daniels

Mitchell Elias "Mitch" Daniels, Jr. (born April 7, 1949 in Monongahela, Pennsylvania) is the current Governor of the U.S. state of Indiana. A Republican, he began his four-year term as Indiana's 49th Governor on January 10, 2005. On June 16, 2007, Daniels announced he was running for re-election in 2008.

Early life
Daniels moved to Indiana from Pennsylvania when he was in grade school. Upon graduating from North Central High School in Indianapolis in 1967, Daniels was named Indiana's Presidential Scholar – the state’s top male high school graduate that year – by President Lyndon Johnson. Daniels earned a bachelor's degree from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University in 1971 and a Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1979.

While a student at Princeton in 1970, he was arrested for possession of marijuana and spent two nights in jail. Throughout his professional career, he has always been forthcoming about his arrest; disclosing it on job applications and in a 1989 Indianapolis Star column.

Private sector work
In 1987, Daniels returned to Indiana as chief executive of the Hudson Institute, restoring the organization back to financial health. He then left Hudson in 1990 for the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company. From 1993 until 2001, Daniels was employed as Senior Vice President for Corporate Strategy and Policy at Eli Lilly.

In January 2001 Daniels sold $1.45 million in Indianapolis Power & Light Co. stock, just before the value of the shares plummeted. The Indiana Securities Division investigated the sale and found no wrongdoing, but political opponents in his 2004 gubernatorial campaign charged that Daniels got rich while other employees suffered financial hardship. Mr. Daniels claimed that he sold his shares because of his appointment by President Bush (see below).

Office of Management and Budget
In January 2001, Daniels accepted President George W. Bush's invitation to serve as director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). He served as Director from January 2001 through June 2003. In this role he was also a member of the National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council.

While it is thought that President Bush nicknamed Daniels "The Blade" for his determination to cut social services spending, in actuality this nickname originated in Daniels's days at Princeton University, where his skill at the poker table led his fellow Charter Club members to label him with this moniker. It would seem to apply equally to his noted acumen at budget cutting.

Daniels instituted a first-of-its-kind accountability system for all governmental entities. Ironically, Daniels came under fire for overseeing a $236 billion annual surplus turn into a $400 billion deficit during his 29-month tenure. Supporters argued that Daniels was one of the few in the administration working toward restraint, and that ultimately he had to take marching orders from the administration. Opponents argued that Daniels was yet another conservative bent on protecting corporate interests under the guise of "fiscal responsibility".

Daniels  was mentioned as being involved in the insertion of the "Midnight Rider" of the Homeland Security Act which was signed into law on November 25 2002. The bill contained a provision that was added at the last minute that would block lawsuits against Indiana-based Eli Lilly and Company over the use of thiomersal, a mercury-based vaccine preservative. Parents of autistic children claim this preservative has caused autism in thousands of children. Their claim is controversial, as much evidence suggests that about 90% of autism is explained by genetics. The claim has not been confirmed by reliable studies.

Governor
While campaigning for governor Daniels traveled the state in a white RV covered with signatures of supporters and his trademark "My Man Mitch" campaign slogan. "My Man Mitch" was a reference to a nickname the President Bush called him while he was OMB Director. He visited all 92 counties at least three times and had a fried pork tenderloin sandwich in each. On 2 November 2004, Daniels was elected Governor of Indiana garnering about 55% of the vote compared to 45% to Democratic incumbent Governor Joe Kernan, who had assumed power after Frank O'Bannon's death. In his first State of the State address on January 18, 2005, Daniels sought to improve the state's fiscal situation by calling for strict controls on all state spending increases and proposed a one year 1% tax increase on all individuals and entities earning over $100,000. The move was controversial for a conservative governor and the state legislature did not act on it. In 2007 Gov. Daniels proposed a cigarette tax raising Indiana's 55.5-cents-per-pack tax by at least 25 cents. The proposed increase failed to win approval in the Indiana House, after a bipartisian effort in the 100-member chamber voted against it.

Visit to South Korea
Daniels, as part of a 12-day trade mission in Asia, visited Indiana soldiers serving in the Korean Demilitarized Zone on the 56th anniversary of the start of the Korean War and laid a bouquet of white flowers at the base of a plaque listing 900 Hoosiers who died in the war. Daniels also stopped in Japan.