Have Hoosiers' Memories Ditched My Man Mitch?

My Man Mitch: Two Decades Later, Hoosiers Still Debate the Daniels Legacy

My Man Mitch: Two Decades Later, Hoosiers Still Debate the Daniels Legacy

From Sen. Richard Lugar's Staff, DC office AA, PR at Eli Lilly, and boardrooms to Washington budget chief to Indiana governor and to Purdue president and foundation executive, Mitch Daniels left a long shadow over Indiana politics. He's an author and advisor the not-for-profit Liberty Funds.

When Mitch Daniels launched his campaign for governor of Indiana in 2004, he presented himself as a practical reformer. He was already well known in political circles as the former director of the Office of Management and Budget under President George W. Bush and as a longtime Republican policy strategist. To supporters, Daniels represented competence and fiscal discipline. Critics said he, east coast educated after leaving Indiana represented something else: the technocratic politics of Washington being brought back home with him to Indiana.

More than twenty years later, Hoosiers still argue about what his leadership meant for the state and for the country.

Daniels’ national profile began in Washington, where he last served as President Bush’s budget director from 2001 to 2003. Those were consequential years for the federal government. The United States entered the decade with budget surpluses inherited from the late 1990s. Within a few years, however, the fiscal picture changed dramatically due to the spending on wars abroad, and economic shifts following the 2001 recession.

Supporters of Daniels argue that those outcomes reflected broader political choices made by Congress and the administration as a whole, not the work of one budget director. Critics, however, say that his tenure symbolized a turning point when the federal government moved away from balanced budgets and toward large structural deficits. For many voters skeptical of Washington spending, Daniels’ role in that period remains part of the debate about his legacy.

When Daniels returned to Indiana to run for governor, he branded himself as a reformer determined to modernize state government. His campaign slogan, “My Man Mitch,” quickly became one of the most recognizable political catchphrases in Indiana politics. The phrase was embraced by supporters who saw Daniels as a pragmatic problem-solver willing to challenge entrenched interests. Critics said, "not my man." Some got the "nickel tour," not the "quarter tour." He appointed Chief Justice Loretta Rush from....Lafayette, IN.

Once in office, Daniels pursued policies aimed at fiscal restraint and administrative restructuring. His administration privatized certain government services, leased the Indiana Toll Road, impacting only Hoosiers in Northern Indiana, to private operators, and emphasized balanced budgets. Supporters praised these moves as innovative and fiscally responsible. Critics argued that some of the policies sacrificed long-term public control for short-term financial gain. What has been his longterm impact? Was he an ideologue or just someone who signed up with young star on the way up? Or Successful by his assoication with Sen. Lugar, a friend of his? Was he a legion public servant? Lugar was the paragon of public service. Albeit, he voted to approve too many liberal federal judges.

The toll road lease in particular became one of the defining controversies of his governorship - "major move." Daniels’ allies viewed it as a creative way to fund infrastructure improvements without raising taxes. Obama bankrupted GM and Chrysler hurting state pension plans, which likely forced his hand. Opponents warned that turning over a major public asset to private investors could create problems for future generations. For years, federal highway funds were withheld from the now private interstate highway hurting the daily users of the Toll Road, and worse, there have been now new Toll Road exits by his contract for decades and likely long into the future.

The debate over Daniels’ policies reflected a broader question about governance in Indiana: should the state prioritize managerial efficiency or broader democratic control of public institutions? Should the powers in DC, hold the puppet strings on future Indiana Governors?

After serving two terms as governor, Daniels moved into higher education, becoming President of Purdue University in 2013. His tenure there again drew both praise and criticism. Supporters highlighted tuition freezes and administrative reforms they said made Purdue more affordable for students. Is the school less woke? Critics argued that his leadership style and political background made him an unusual choice for an academic institution that values independence from partisan politics.

His appointments to the judiciary showed perhaps his distain for their being smart judges in "the third branch of government." Daniels also faced controversy at various points during his time in public life over comments and policy positions that sparked debate among students, faculty, and the broader public.

Those moments fueled ongoing arguments about whether political figures should transition so easily into leadership roles within universities.

For many Hoosiers, Mitch Daniels remains a complicated local and national figure. Some view him as an effective governor in the state has had in decades of stale leaders since Doc. Bowen. Others believe his record deserves far more scrutiny, particularly regarding long-term fiscal decisions and the blending of politics with public institutions. Does his own personal wealth seems incongruent with that of a public servant?

Political reputations evolve over time. Leaders once celebrated often face reassessment as new generations examine their policies and the consequences that followed. Daniels’ career—spanning Washington, the Indiana Statehouse, and a major university—offers plenty of material for that reassessment.

Two decades after “My Man Mitch,” the question facing Hoosiers and being asked by readers of HE is quite simply, what did Daniels accomplished? How his bold decisions shaped the political, educational, and economic direction of the state.

History has a way of revisiting such questions long after campaign slogans fade. HIs greatest moment may have came admitting his own flaws at the funeral of the late Senator Richard Lugar. Watch it all: https://youtu.be/JzhhAJ-dS-U?si=RoxBhdQdv1Sk2ddp