Daniels unafraid to touch ‘third rail’ in possible 2012 run

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) said Sunday he wouldn’t be afraid to tackle entitlement reforms if he runs for president.

Daniels, the former budget director under President George W. Bush who’s now mulling his own run for president, said he didn’t think that proposals to reform Social Security or Medicare aren’t as politically poisonous as pundits assume.

“I can’t tell you that for sure,” Daniels said on “Fox News Sunday” when asked if entitlement reforms were politically suicidal. “But i have a little more confidence in the American citizenry than some.”

“I do believe that people are willing to step up, once they have the facts,” he added.

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Daniels, for instance, said that the government should “bifurcate” Social Security, leaving it intact for workers near retirement and reforming it for younger workers. For younger workers, Daniels proposed means-testing benefits, raising the retirement age, and indexing benefits more closely to inflation.

Daniels is a dark-horse candidate for president who’s touted his own fiscal hawkishness over maybe any other quality. He’s called for a “truce” on social issues, a suggestion that’s angered some social conservatives in the GOP.

The Indiana governor sought to clarify his remarks on Sunday, saying that Americans should rally around fiscal issues, which means including in any political coalition voters who might have divergent views on social issues.

Daniels said he hadn’t made the decision to enter the race, though.

“I sure haven’t decided to do it. I haven’t decided not to,” he said. “I’m keeping the option open, as I’ve been urged to.”