Governor defends Asia trip as necessary

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels says his 12-day privately-funded trip to China and Japan is necessary to help attract business
to the state and is dismissing criticism of it from a top state legislator.

Democratic House Speaker Pat Bauer
said last week it was nice that the Republican governor was going to visit jobs that had left Indiana.

Daniels
told WTHR-TV of Indianapolis in an Internet interview from China that Bauer "never has understood where jobs come from"
and that the state would have few jobs left if it followed the speaker’s policies.

Daniels said Indiana has led
the nation at attracting jobs from international companies and that it was important to develop relationships with business
executives so that they consider Indiana.

For more about the trip, IBJ  is posting a blog from Indy Partnership CEO Ron Gifford.