Photo: Courtesy: Governor Beshear's Office
At a ceremony earlier this year, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez and a host of federal, state and local officials broke ground on the first construction phase of the major project.
Mitch Daniels says he believes he has changed Indiana‘s mindset, as his eight-year governorship draws to a close. Daniels‘ two terms were marked by a flood of new initiatives.
He says he believes he has changed Hoosiers‘ expectations for state government, leaving behind a state less resistant to change. Daniels acknowledges some people still question the wisdom of some of those changes.
But there is one signature achievement about which Daniels expresses astonishment, which is lingering opposition of the $2 billion lease of the Indiana Toll Road.
Daniels acknowledges a few misfires, such as the attempt to privatize eligibility determination.But he says when you launch so many high-profile initiatives, some of them are bound to fail, and says he has tried to be up front when it happens.
The governor views the presidential election as a blown opportunity for his fellow Republicans, he says he has no regrets about his decision not to run himself. Daniels says if he had been focused on planning and carrying out a presidential campaign, a lot of initiatives enacted in the final two years of his term would not have happened.
