Mitch Daniels Will Not Run in 2012

Count Mitch Daniels out.

According to a page-topping story in Politico Sunday, the Indiana governor wrote to supporters in an e-mail just after midnight that he will not run for president in 2012. He said he made the decision based on lack of support from his family.

Politico said the e-mail, which went out with the word "urgent" in the subject line, said this:

I hope this reaches you before the public news does. If so, please respect my confidence for the short time until I can make it known to all.

"The counsel and encouragement I received from important citizens like you caused me to think very deeply about becoming a national candidate. In the end, I was able to resolve every competing consideration but one, but that, the interests and wishes of my family, is the most important consideration of all. If I have disappointed you, I will always be sorry.

"If you feel that this was a non-courageous or unpatriotic decision, I understand and will not attempt to persuade you otherwise. I only hope that you will accept my sincerity in the judgment I reached," he wrote.

"Many thanks for your help and input during this period of reflection. Please stay in touch if you see ways in which an obscure Midwestern governor might make a constructive contribution to the rebuilding of our economy and our Republic.

It was reported last week that Daniels was being pressed into service by the Bush family. He had served as director of the Office of Management and Budget during George W. Bush's first term. Jeb Bush, according to the Florida Times-Union, told a private gathering of Jacksonville business leaders in February that "Mitch is the only one who sees the stark perils and will offer real detailed proposals."

A regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal's op-ed page, Daniels, 61, receives plaudits from the GOP business class for his fiscal policies in Indiana.