Mitch Daniels, dark horse?

First, regardless of Obama’s standing in 2012, would modern media-age voters really respond to Daniels?

“He comes up to Obama’s navel,” said a longtime acquaintance of the governor who likes him but is also a political realist. “It’s just a fact of life.”

Beyond appearances, there are questions about Daniels’s mild-mannered demeanor.

In his recent interview with a group of Washington reporters, he bemoaned the “savagery of our politics,” saying: “I want to see our party campaign and govern, not merely to win.”

That sober sensibility, a friend said, is part of the Daniels appeal.

“He’s a very intellectual guy,” said this person. “He’s not Glenn Beck. He’s not going to pound the table.