Mitch Daniels Out of GOP 2012 Race and World Did Not End Saturday

Clear beneficiary is Mitt Romney!

So now the intense speculation these past two weeks on whether Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels would run for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012 is over. Mitch said no and the world did not end.

Already the big winner is Mitt Romney who had already picked up steam with the recent withdrawal of Huckabee and Trump. Daniels would have been the establishment candidates preferred anti-Romney candidate but now those voters may drift back to Romney, who seems to be a very popular second choice for many, or find a new anti-Romney establishment candidate.

One such alternative might be Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty who must be breathing a sigh of relief with the news. Daniels was sucking all the air out of the room as Pawlenty readies his big announcement on Monday.

Herman Cain Makes it Official

Among the more non-establishment GOP candidates, Herman Cain made his intention to run official on Saturday. Note that the world still did not end. Michelle Bachmann, another strong non-establishment candidate may also soon announce.

So, we are starting to see a field made up of establishment GOP candidates like Romney and Pawlenty on one side, Cain and Bachmann on the other and Newt and others floating somewhere in between. The next debate is coming up June 7th in New Hampshire (debate schedule). It will be interesting to see who shows up!