Pence missed chance for humility

Our governor may be his own worst enemy.
Politically, that is.
Given an opportunity to demonstrate thoughtful reflection, he ignores it. So sure is he of his judgment, even the facts don’t seem to get in the way.
The latest stumble occurred just up the road in Fort Wayne.
On hand to preside over an announcement by General Motors that it is prepared to invest more than $1 billion in the pick-up truck plant that has been the mainstay of the northeastern Indiana economy, the governor had a chance to say he had been wrong.
He had an opportunity to acknowledge that the federal bailout of GM — distasteful as it had been and though it seemed at odds with some basic American precepts — was ultimately the right choice.
It had saved American jobs. It had rescued a strategically important part of the American industrial base. And it had speeded the economic recovery.
To have done otherwise would have been disastrous, and the Indiana and Midwestern economy would have taken the brunt of that disaster. Thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of jobs would have been lost.
A company that had been an economic engine for a century would have been mired in bankruptcy court.
Those who argued against the federal rescue of GM — then U.S. Rep. Mike Pence and then Indiana Secretary of State Richard Mourdock — had principle and ideology and political philosophy on their side. And there was much that was right — in theory — about their argument.
But this wasn’t about theory or political philosophy. It was about saving the American economy.
And on that point, both Richard Mourdock and our current governor, got it wrong.
So, now, in calmer economic times, when Mike Pence is no longer just another representative from Indiana, when the now-stabilized and healthy GM is announcing a new investment in the Fort Wayne plant, wouldn’t it have made sense for Gov. Pence to show a little humility?
Wouldn’t it have made sense to say, “Well, I opposed the deal on principle but I’m glad it worked out” or simply “I was wrong on this one”?
Of course it would have.
Instead, the governor doubled down.
He wasn’t wrong, he said. GM should have gone into bankruptcy. Government intervention to save thousands of jobs was a mistake.
And then, he had the brass to take credit for an investment by a company he was prepared to see die. He was happy to take credit for preserving jobs he was prepared to see lost.
How clueless is that? — J.R.