Mitch Daniels is exercising his prerogative as governor to tell the federal Department of Transportation his opinion of proposed time-zone changes. But DOT spokesman Robert Johnson puts the issue in perspective (or Daniels in his place, depending on your view):
When asked how much weight Daniels' recommended adjustments would be given, Johnson said it would be part of the record along with opinions from congressional members, legislators, local officials and others.
"We will consider all that input, just as we consider the comments from thousands of Hoosiers on the subject before we come out with a final rule sometime in January," Johnson said.
It's DOT's call, in other words, and the decision will be made based on the DOT's criteria. Daniels' opinion will matter no more or less than anyone else's opinion. That's as it should be. Time zones affect more than the state they're in and are thus a legitimate federal issue. Masson's Blog, which has made the time-zone issue a cause, accuses the governor of breaking the law.
