It’s no big surprise that Mitch Daniels is slowing inching his way away from his former boss and mentor, George W. Bush, in the quest to redefine his shattered image.

It’s slightly more surprising that he’s trying to capitalize on Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s message of change and hope despite being (a) an incumbent with; (b) a track record of divisive, arrogant, arm-twisting politics as usual.

Daniels makes his latest sales pitch to Indianapolis Star columnist Matt Tully, who writes about it in this morning’s paper:

As we shifted the conversation to politics, Daniels said his campaign’s “vital signs” are good, even while predicting this “might be the worst” election year Republicans have seen. He offered an interesting theory when asked how the thousands of new voters turning out for Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential run would affect his campaign.

“Might help,” he said. “If these are folks who are looking for change, that’s us with a capital C. My impression is the new folks who have been brought in are very nonpartisan. I think they’ve been attracted not by (Obama’s) party label, but by him.”

Obama’s message is “Change We Can Believe In.” Perhaps Daniels should change his to “Change We Can Believe In When I’m Running Scared Because My Pollster Tells Me Voters Want To Believe In Change.”