Bobby Jindal has been gaining much national attention as the Republican Veep sweepstakes heats up. For those unfamiliar with Jindal, he is the 37 year old Governor of Louisiana. He is making waves across the nation for embracing a "new politics" made popular by politicians such as John F. Kennedy and current Democratic Presidential hopeful Barack Obama.
Many took notice of Jindal during his first bid for Louisana Governor in 2003. He lost to Kathleen Blanco but established himslef in the Louisiana political scene. From there he went on to serve as a U.S. Representative from the 1st District. Prior to that Jindal had served in a number of appointed positions including Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services, and arguably most impressive President of the University of Louisiana System.
This makes excellent material for a resume but as recent elections have shown, many Americans are impressed with qualifications just as much as charisma. Jindal has much of the latter as well. In keeping with the idea of "new politics" Gov. Jindal offered praise to Sen. Obama on last Sunday's Face the Nation calling him "earnest, genuine...a incredibly gifted speaker". These words sound consistent with the post-partisan theme Sen. Obama and his camp have been espousing since his candidacy for United States Senate in 2004. Though he gave credit to Sen. Obama, Gov. Jindal did throw his full support behind his party saying that he supports Sen. McCain because "he [Sen. McCain] is more likely to cut our taxes, defend our interest overseas effectively, more likely to keep the government out of healthcare..."
And thats what makes Gov. Jindal so appealing. Much like Sen. Obama he eloquently articulates his respect and appreciation for the suggestions that the other side has to offer, but at the end of the day he is consistent with his party's core positions. His willingness to praise the efforts of those on the other side of the aisle help him look more bi-partisan and moderate, yet a thorough examination of his politics makes conservatives very comfortable putting their confidence in Gov. Jindal.
But let us not forget the ever-present elephant in the room (no pun intended). Gov. Jindal is Indian and helps promote the diversity of all-inclusiveness of the United States. As much as many people would like us to move away from identity politics (including Gov. Jindal) he fits perfectly as the Republican answer to Barack Obama. The Republicans take your charismatic and eloquent African American Candidate and raise you an accomplished, Rhodes Scholar Indian American political rising star. Some are mentioning Gov. Jindal as a vice presidential choice, regardless if he is on the ticket or not, you can expect Gov. Jindal to be in Minnesota this September giving a keynote address and Republicans everywhere will join in their own chorus of "yes we can".
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Good article. At first I was thinking that the GOP would need someone like Romney, but after reading, they'll probably need someone younger in office like Jindal, who is a rising star in the party. The age thing has become a large issue, and McCain needs to be paired up with someone two or three decades younger to help correct all of his "senior moments".
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