The government you won't miss

The Rise of Localism | Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels is a back-to-his-roots politician with a national message and a toe in the 2012 presidential campaign | Edward Lee Pitts

Jonathan Ernst/Reuters/Landov

WASHINGTON—If you've driven through Indiana anytime during the last seven years and passed a cyclist on a Harley-Davidson with a small entourage trailing, then it's likely you've glimpsed Mitch Daniels, the state's Republican governor. If you hear the roar of his motorcycle, be forewarned: Gov. Daniels may be headed to your home, to stay.

In 2004 Daniels had a full resumé—seven years as a U.S. Senate staffer, a White House aide under two presidents, head of an Indiana-based conservative think tank, and top executive at pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Company. But he had never run for public office.

So when he did run for governor, Daniels couldn't stand the thought of spending campaign dollars on hotels. "So I just said, 'Somebody find me a couch,'" Daniels recalled.