Boo to Whew!: GOP Reacts to Daniels' Dodge

A reeling GOP took to the airwaves today to react to Mitch Daniels' decision not to run for president, reports Politico, and to speculate on who might take his place. Paul Ryan's reaction was typically "disappointed. I think his candidacy would have been a great addition to this race." Would-have-been rival Newt Gingrich, meanwhile, had trouble not looking relieved at Daniels' departure, saying he would have been "a formidable competitor." Elsewhere around the Sunday dial:

• Maybe Ryan was disappointed on a personal level, because Dick Armey turned the crosshairs squarely on him: "Frankly, we are disappointed. I was just saying this morning, maybe it's time to start drafting Paul Ryan."
• Ryan fired back at Gingrich's infamous diss of his budget as "right wing social engineering," calling it "deeply inaccurate, a gross mischaracterization."
• Gingrich addressed his huge tab at Tiffany's—sort of. "It's my private life," he said, calling himself just "a guy running for president who pays all his bills."
• Herman Cain is not broke, despite $13 in the bank: "The PAC account ended in December that's why it shows $13. Friends of Herman Cain is doing just fine, but we need more," he said.

(More Sunday morning talk shows stories.)