Daniels Opts Out of 2012 Run

May 22 – Although the rapture did not occur yesterday, another viable candidate from the Republican field was carried away from consideration.

With Barbour, Huckabee, and Trump already standing on the sidelines, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels is the latest to decline to square off with the remaining Republican candidates in an effort to wrestle the White House away from President Obama.

The Bench Jockeys thought that Daniels had a legitimate chance to secure the nomination as an 8:1 contender – the third highest ratio from our oddsmaking team.  Citing the needs of a rather complex family dynamic (that we will avoid condensing and characterizing in this update) Daniels no doubt looked at the scrutiny that his family would be placed under and opted out.  The mean-spirited attacks by a sensationalized media machine, which is more likely to create the news than it is to report it, is reason enough to avoid the spotlight.  Why would anyone really want to run for President and put his/her family, friends and loved ones through such unmitigated scrutiny?  And when the media controls an unapologetic and unconsequenced dogmatic platform, how can the real story even be told?  I’m not saying we need censorship, just accountability.  But that’s another blog topic…

It has been a rather tough 30 days on the slate of GOP hopefuls – and that is exactly why we developed our odds-tracker.  See ( http://thebenchjockeys.com/the-bench-jockeys-set-odds-on-the-2012-presidential-hopefuls/  ) so you can keep the entirety of the race in context.  Daniels’ exit benefits Tim Pawlenty, and we are now calling him the GOP nomination favorite at 3:1, edging past Mitt Romney at 7:2.  Upticks also go to Jim DeMint, Alan West and Rick Santorum.  Endorsements from Daniels and Huckabee may decide this marathon.

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