A column in Sunday’s New York Times tackles head-on an element of the Mitch-Daniels-for-president story that few others have addressed in public:

Is the Indiana governor too short to be president?

In a commentary headlined “The Height of Unfairness,” Times legal correspondent John Schwartz looks at some of the issues that Hoosier pundits and politicians have thought about but not discussed much in public.

“What kind of superficial knucklehead, you might ask, would base the solemn vote for president on such a meaningless factor as height?” Schwartz wonders. “The American voter, perhaps. More often than not, presidential contests go to the taller candidate.”

But he also quotes Bush II media strategist Mark McKinnon: In 2012, voters could be “tired of a president known for his confidence, lofty oratory, urbane repose, hip fashion, full head of hair and substantial elevation. … They’ll be looking for someone like Mitch Daniels who is self-deprecating, blunt, nerdy, wooden, dresses like a county commissioner, balding and pint-sized.”

Schwartz notes that Daniels’ official height is listed as 5 feet 7 inches. (Personal observation: No way.)

Schwartz is also the author of a book geared for young readers, “Short: Walking Tall When You’re Not Tall at All.”

The worst?

Indiana was the subject of another story in a big newspaper last week: A Chicago Tribune look at corruption in a neighboring county.

“In Lake County, Ind. — with a population one-tenth the size of Cook County — federal prosecutors have sent nearly 50 public figures to prison since 2000, according to the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Indiana,” the Tribune reported. “ ‘(Corruption) is probably worse in Lake County than Chicago,’ ” said G. Robert Blakey, a former federal attorney who wrote the racketeering statutes for the Kennedy Justice Department.”

Indiana’s attorney general, Greg Zoeller, weighed in: “It’s the only place like it in the state that has that kind of history and systemic problems. There’s a kind of denial or lack of appreciation. They don’t seem to realize how they look to people on the outside.”

Harrison update

After two City Council members last week protested the lack of progress in building The Harrison – the retail/residential component of Harrison Square – Redevelopment Director Greg Leatherman is planning to give the council an update. In three weeks.

There is no hidden agenda in the timing. The council is off this week (the fifth Tuesday of the month), and Leatherman is unavailable Sept. 7. The next committee session of the council is Sept. 21.

However, the city Redevelopment Commission meets Sept. 14, and it could take action on the long-delayed project.