[StBernard] Jindal for Veep?

[Westley Annis]

An Interesting Choice 

By Bruce Walker on Aug 30, 07


As the Republican Party looks, like the Democrat Party, weak on leadership,
there is one bright spot on the horizon:  The next governor of Louisiana,
Bobby Jindal. I have written about Jindal before, four years ago when I
predicted that he would be the Louisiana gubernatorial election.  He was
slimed at the end of the campaign with the rankest sort of racial bigotry
(Jindal's parents are from India), but that is not going to happen this
time. 



That race, and his successful race for Congress, are honing the skills of
this very, very bright man.  He is very articulate, very likeable, is only
thirty-six years old.  But his appeal goes far beyond that.  He is a "person
of color" and in some respects resembles Obama, who is half-black.  But
there the comparison ends.  Jindal exudes executive confidence and command
of facts. 


He began serving as Louisiana Secretary of Health and Hospitals at the
callow age of twenty-four.  Then Jindal was executive director of the
Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare during the Clinton
Administration.  After that he was president of the Louisiana University
System.  Finally, President Bush named him Assistant Secretary of Health and
Human Services.  It is almost impossible to imagine any presidential
candidate with more experience in both health care administration and few
with as much experience in education or entitlements - three key domestic
issues. 


Moreover, he is a devout Christian who can very intelligently express his
beliefs and there is not even the hint of any misconduct or meanness about
the man.  His conservative credentials are impeccable:  His American
Conservative Union rating for 2005 was 100 percent and for 2006 it was 92
percent. Jindal is a man around whom social conservatives and fiscal
conservatives can both rally. 


A Jindal candidacy would add an interesting story to any campaign.  He has
proven able to work with both political parties, and as governor of
Louisiana he will hone those skills.  Bobby Jindal is also the child of
legal immigrants, and immigrants not from across the Rio Grande but from the
other side of the world.  He would be able to speak not only as a person of
color, but also as the child of recent immigrants. 


It is, of course, too late for Bobby Jindal - who is barely young enough to
run for president - to enter the Republican nomination now.  But when Fred
Thompson enters the race, as he will soon, I would recommend that he select
Governor Jindal as his running mate.  Both men are likeable, honorable,
outside of Washington, and bring an interesting story to a race.  The
selection would be unexpected, giving the media something truly interesting
to talk about - and because there is nothing bad to say about Jindal, the
news would have to be good media coverage. 


Jindal would run rings around any Democrat selected to run with Hillary and
could largely pre-empt her keynote domestic issue, health care, by noting
that he actually worked in government health care administration and helped
address the issue in a bipartisan commission when her husband was president.



On national security issues, the selection of Jindal could provide America
with a very potent psychological and political weapon.  In 2005, Bobby
Jindal was named India Abroad Person of the Year.  The world's largest
democracy is very aware of Bobby Jindal.  India is also the greatest
obstacle to the spread of Islam in Asia and it is potentially our most
potent ally in the war on terrorism.  Vice President Jindal could visit
India and affect our relationship with India in a way that no other American
possibly could. 


India faces terrorism from radical Islam as much as any non-Islamic nation
on the planet.  India, which is quickly rising toward the ranks of a
superpower, could find in Vice President Jindal a sympathetic figure, a
person who understands India, and a powerful link between India and America.
His election would be a powerful signal that Americans like and respect
India and Indians. 


Because of his youth, after having served eight years in the Thompson
Adminstration, Jindal would be only forty-five when he ran for president on
his own, making him one of the youngest and also one of the most experienced
presidential nominees in American history.  Does a Jindal candidacy sound
unusual?  Not thought of Jindal before?  Good:  That is precisely what
Americans are looking for - something different from the regular pool of
Washington cronies and insiders.  That is just what Bobby Jindal would be.