INDIANAPOLIS - Cheri Daniels has made no secret of her distaste for politics. She did not campaign for her husband, Mitch Daniels, during two races for governor. She did not fully move into the governor's mansion after his election. She has never delivered a political speech.
But as leading Republicans step up their efforts to urge Mitch Daniels to run for president, the attention has suddenly turned to his wife, who will makes her political speech-making debut Thursday when she delivers a keynote address at the spring dinner of the Indiana Republican Party in Indianapolis.
Her willingness to take on a public role has increased the speculation about his intentions. But it has also come at the price of increased scrutiny on the couple's private life, something Daniels had seemed to have on his mind for months as he made clear that family considerations would weigh heavily on his decision.
While much is known about Daniels in Republican circles, where he is viewed as a fiscally focused, budget-cutting, pragmatic-thinking conservative, there is one period of his life that has remained almost entirely private -- until now. He has been married twice -- to the same wife.
Should he run, that chapter in his life would no doubt be picked over in public and become a part of the personal narrative that springs up around any serious candidate: in this case a three-year gap in their marriage in the 1990s, when she filed for divorce, moved to California with a new husband and left Daniels to raise their four daughters, then age 8 to 14. She later returned and remarried him.
He has discussed it only once publicly, telling The Indianapolis Star in 2004: "If you like happy endings, you'll love our story. Love and the love of children overcame any problems."
The deliberations about whether Daniels will join the Republican presidential race have elevated from whispers to headlines in recent weeks as contributors, activists and party leaders have openly lamented the slate of candidates.
Even while acknowledging that his wife's appearance at the party gathering Thursday would lead to speculation about his political intentions, Daniels sought to play down its significance.
