An Example of Rationality

David Brooks wrote a short profile of Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels today. The point of the column was to offer Daniels as a good -- maybe the best -- Republican presidential candidate.

The profile is a little more touchy-feely than I would say the best political descriptions are, but its central thesis is crucial:

The country also needs a substantive debate about the role of government. That’s exactly what an Obama-Daniels contest would provide.

It's this debate, and the likely growth and innovation that such discussions would foster, that matters as much as any particular conclusions. Brooks and Daniels certainly have their agendas; Daniels is in the middle of a battle with Indiana Democrats over the power of labor unions in that state. They believe the budget deficit is a moral issue, and want smaller government. I doubt I would agree with a lot of what Daniels does. I don't generally agree with Brooks.
I don't always agree with President Obama, either, but what I like most about him is that he speaks like a sane person. He reasons and appeals fact and consequence, not ideology and fantasy. Brooks reports that

[Daniels] also spoke of expanding the party’s reach. In a passage that rankled some in the audience and beyond, he argued that “purity in martyrdom is for suicide bombers.” Republicans, he continued, “will need people who never tune in to Rush or Glenn or Laura or Sean.” He spoke as a practical Midwesterner, appealing to hard-core conservatives and the not so hard-core.

That sort of thing certainly would be welcome around here.