Obama, Daniels and Indiana

Change agents Barack Obama and Mitch Daniels won over Hoosiers yesterday, but from different ends of the political spectrum.

Barack Obama took the state after
a campaign in which he promised to increase regulations on business, raise taxes on high incomes, and appoint judges who would
take empathy for the disadvantaged into consideration in addition to existing Constitutional mandates â?? all liberal-leaning
positions.

Daniels made his campaign a referendum on his first term, a period marked by yanking collective bargaining rights of state
employees, and a string of privatization deals including the lease of the Indiana Toll Road. In other words, Daniels won voter favor by working from the conservative end
of the spectrum.

What does this tell you about Indiana voters? A state that in effect asked its governor for four more years of conservative
reform also helped elect a president who plans to move the country away from the conservatism that has dominated for a generation.

Any other thoughts from the elections?