Time for a decision

Here from the Washington Post is the latest "will he or won't he" run story about Mitch Daniels:

For more than a year, Daniels has been on the fence about running for president. Now, with the legislative session in Indiana ending, he says he owes it to potential supporters to make a decision. “It's time to cut bait,” he said in an interview in his statehouse office.

His decision will come just as the campaign for the Republican nomination is about to heat up. The first debate of the cycle is set for May 5 in South Carolina, though with only a partial cast likely to be onstage.

[. . .]

Daniels has looked to others to seize the issue of the country's fiscal problems, hoping that would give him a good reason not to run. He has examined from various angles the question of whether he should run. Can he advocate as effectively for action on the debt problem if he does not become a candidate? Does the debate touched off by Ryan's plan and Obama's response guarantee that the issue will be front and center in 2012 even without him? Will he set back the cause if he runs and does poorly?

Daniels has always said a strong factor in his decision would be whether he thinks the American people are  ready for his "take your medicine" fiscal message. Considering recent polls indicating Americans think the government is too big but don't really want changes in Medicare or Social Security, I wonder.