Gov. Daniels gives Republican response to State of Union address

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - Andy Downs, a professor with Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne’s Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics, said Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels is a success story.  That's the reason the Republican party picked Daniels to give the party's response to the State of the Union address.

Click here to read and watch Daniels' speech.

"They really see him as a bright spot," said Downs, who is a Democrat.  "I think what they see is a person who has a good track record, a good story to tell, and is pretty good at telling the story, too.  So, I think that is why he has been recruited."

Daniels is the fifth governor to give the opposing parties response in the past decade.

Click here to see the history of the State of the Union address, and the politicians who have responded for the opposing party.

Last year, Daniels decided to not run for President, but Downs believes the governor could still find his way into Washington.

"There will be plenty of people who will start talking about whether he is a vice presidential possibility or a cabinet member possibility," Downs said.  "There will be a whole lot of buzz about that,"

Indiana has had five vice presidents, the last being Republican Dan Quayle, from 1989-1993.

"Mitch Daniels is somebody who could be viewed as a credible vice presidential candidate," Downs said.  "I'm not sure this is a test run of that.  There's several other ways where that could be done, and he has already done several things that prove whether he could or couldn't be a vice presidential candidate. 

"He is somebody with a good story," Downs said.  "A good story the Republicans like to tell, and they might as well get the good positive message out there."

Downs said Daniels' success story is due to his good decisions.

" When he has had the opportunity to raise his image and bring some extra attention to the state of Indiana," Downs said, "what he would consider to be positive attention, he's done it.  This is another one of those opportunities.  He's not done being governor for several months, and so in his mind, he has a lot of work to do.  This is a way to build visibility, make people focused on Indiana and possibly bring some good things here."

Click here to read local leaders response to Obama's State of the Union speech.