Posted on 07/23/2008 4:44:41 AM PDT by Kaslin
Drum roll. Suspense. Who will it be?
In this corner, we have Stormin' Mormon Mitt Romney. In the other, we have Brain-Buster Bobby Jindal.
Amid speculation that John McCain will announce his vice presidential pick soon, political nail-biters have begun placing bets. Favorites include Louisiana Gov. Jindal, with whom McCain is meeting Wednesday, and former Massachusetts Gov. Romney, whose resume is familiar.
Can McCain's former foe become his new best friend?
Romney would bring more than squeaky clean qualifications and youthful good looks to the ticket. New polling in Michigan by Ayres, McHenry & Associates shows that Romney gives McCain a significant jump -- "off the charts," as someone familiar with the still-unreleased poll described it -- and makes him competitive in a state that hasn't voted Republican since 1988. Mike Huckabee had little effect on the survey results and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty's name was of negligible value.
Given the importance of even that single state, where 17 electoral votes are at stake, Romney would seem a logical choice. Then again, as conservatives frequently note, logic doesn't always work with McCain, who seems to enjoy doing the opposite of what he senses people want him to do.
Although Jindal is less well-known, he's got rising star power. Importantly, he's young -- and looks even younger. If he had cheeks, you'd want to pinch them.
Reed-thin, Jindal has the metabolism of a hummingbird and the kind of intellect that makes Vulcans uneasy. Often referred to as the smartest man in the room, Jindal's mind can wrap around anything but the idea of repose.
More to an important point, he's not another white guy. The son of Indian immigrants, Jindal is both the Republican Barack Obama and the anti-Obama. To a vote, he's a fiscal and social, pro-life conservative who came to the governorship on a promise of reform in the wake of Katrina.
While then-Gov. Kathleen Blanco told President Bush she'd get back to him about what she needed after the hurricane, Jindal orchestrated a national emergency system of volunteers, faith-based agencies, retail providers and truckers to donate and deliver supplies to the drenched and homeless. Affectionately told stories of his gritty performance are the stuff of future legend.
That can-do spirit is a thread that runs through Jindal's life. Before becoming governor, he served in the U.S. House of Representatives. Before that, he was appointed secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, taking the state's bankrupt Medicaid program from a $400 million deficit to a $220 million surplus. He also served as president of the University of Louisiana System.
Oh, and he delivered his third child when his wife awoke in the middle of the night in labor. Yeah, but can he juggle machetes?
In one of his toughest challenges as governor, Jindal vetoed a bill that would have doubled state legislators' pay. Jindal had long opposed the raise, but also had promised to let the Legislature handle its own business. Caught between two vows, Jindal erred on the side of ethics, admitting that he had made a mistake in promising too much.
"As with all mistakes, you can either correct them or compound them -- I am choosing to correct my mistake now," Jindal said at a news conference.
Too good to be true? Perhaps. If Jindal gets close to the White House, Americans will hear about his conversion to Catholicism. He was smitten in high school by a young lady who stole his heart and led him to the cross. In college, he witnessed and wrote about an exorcism.
Though such talents might be needed in the nation's capital, Hindu converts to Catholicism who admit to belief in demons have some 'splainin' to do.
It seems clear that Romney would agree to serve as McCain's wingman. He has stumped for McCain for several months after graciously dropping his own candidacy for president.
Jindal has a tougher call. He's been governor only for six months and has the unique opportunity to create a new state, literally, from the ground up. Politically, the fallout would be significant, as Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, a Democrat and brother of U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, would take Jindal's place.
Staying put might allow him time to further burnish his executive credentials while honoring his contract with Louisiana voters. Jindal's resume would suggest that he's always been a man in a hurry, but there's no rush for the nation's junior governor.
When you're Bobby Jindal, the night really is young.
Everything you claim to want to know is already in front of you. That you can’t see it is indicative that you’ve chosen not to. No amount of restating facts found here and elsewhere is going to change your mind for you.
Americanized? He's American, born in Baton Rouge.
mark
I’d like to see Palin/Jindal or Jindal/Palin in 2012.
I'd be interested in seeing them stated for the first time, much less restated. He cut the budget. Anyone can do that, there's no accomplishment there. In the process he took Louisiana's health care ranking from 48th to 50th, and if you believe half the blogs out there cut thousands off from doctor's care and gutted the state mental health system. But what have been the long range results of his term? Is the state medicare still showing a surplus? Has the health ranking improved? Is the budget under control? In short, did he leave a more efficiently running department behind him or did he merely take a cleaver to the budget for short-term results, and then call it success before skipping off to his next impressive-sounding job? That's been Jindal's history. He has never stayed around long enough in any of his jobs to really make a lasting difference.
It’s not too tough a call. This man worked the healthcare crisis from a $400 million deficit to a $220 million surplus. He did that in a limited capacity. Now, let him make LA a model for other states. Let him show other governors how it’s done. If he stays those thieving children of Moon Landrieu don’t get to control LA. The country could use his leadership, but LA needs it.
I didn’t see it. I’m glad to hear you describe him as quick-witted and possessing a great sense of humor. On the occasions that I saw him, I’ve always come away thinking, “He needs a good haircut and some wit.”
That child has not been brought up yet. He’s a baby. He will be 6-9 months old in November and is not featured in the picture.
“I have nothing against Jindal, and agree he looks very impressive on paper. But I’d like to see him put in enough time in one job to actually accomplish something and build a track record people can point to.”
In complete agreement.
Jindal may be a rising star in the party, but wouldn’t it be a good idea for that star to actually rise and shine long enough to establish a proven record of accomplishment before we go hitchin’ our presidential wagons to it????
P.S. to conservatives and Republicans: this IS NOT the year to go choosing a candidate on the basis of gender (read: Palin), ethnicity or skin color. The democrats have already trumped us one hundred times on that issue, and it will HURT us more than it helps - at least this time around....
- John
I like Bobby Jindal alot and expect alot out of him in the future but not just yet. Bobby’s a rising star in his own right...if he’s picked for the ticket the media will prtray it as a desperate act to get a conservative obama on the ticket..that’s a load of crap but that’s the way it will be played. He’s got a bright future and the State of Louisiana deserves a competent, honest leader at least once every 200 years.
If Jindal can turn LA around, he will be a national superstar and a frontrunner in 2016 or even 2012. This year may be too soon, since it is so early in his term.
Except that he DOES have a record of accomplishment.
Like?
It seems to me that some people achieve more in a limited time than others would with unlimited time. I’ll give you my favorite example. John Bolton was US ambassador to the UN for, let’s say, 300 days. We know it was less than a year. In that time, he cut out contribution to the budget from 54% to 24%. Because he did that, Japan, which was paying 18% took the position that given that they were paying more than Italy(5%), France(6%) and Germany(?) combined, they were either going to need a place on the Security Council or were going to stop contributing. They now pay 0% and are a member of the non-political bodies (WHO, etc.) only. In other words, because of John Bolton, the UN, which would charitably be described as a consortium of thieves, whores and pedophiles, has had to make up the budget shortfall from the thief, whore and pedophile member states. Because of John Bolton, we, in 2008 (long after he wasn’t there anymore) are no longer a member of the UN Human Rights Cmte. which, in the recent past has been chaired by such luminaries as China in ‘01, Cuba in ‘02, Libya in ‘03, Sudan in ‘04 and Zimbabwe in ‘05. And if we withdraw entirely from the UN, it will be, at least in part, because of John Bolton.
You can see why I don’t think it’s necessary to ‘put in the time’ to have results. I’m very impressed that Jindal, in whatever length of time, took LA’s healthcare budget from a $400 million deficit to a $220 million surplus.
And I thank God and President Bush for Bolton’s approx. 300 days at the UN.
I agree. We have wimp Governors all around the country. In Oaklahoma, there might be a reverse situation. On abortion and illegal immigration, their Gov., a Dem., has comported himself as we wish Republicans would. Maybe in was under pressure from the Reps. in the Legislature, but whatever the derivation, he did it. Jindal could inspire others. In my fantasy, McClintock (or one of our FReepers who shall remain unnamed) becomes Gov. of CA. and effects Jindalesque changes there. People need to see what can be done, and I would like to see Jindal show it.
If I balanced the federal budget by cutting defense by 80%, would that impress you? Jindal achieved his results by cutting budgets and staff, which is easy to do. In the process, Louisiana's health ranking dropped from 48th to 50th and, depending on who you talk to, health services to thousands were eliminated and the mental health services were gutted. The impressive feat would have been to cut spending while maintaining services. In other words, leave a better, more efficient operation behind when you leave. Did Jindal do that? What would the results have been in year two of his administration? Or year three? Would the savings remained? Would Medicare still running a surplus? Who knows? By then Jindal had moved on down the road.
“Same thing he’s believed in for several years.”
Make that “seconds”
No, it wouldn’t impress me if you cut the defense budget because I know that DARPA (Defense - Advance Research Projects agency) is an agency of Defense. I know that DARPA is developing great technologies for our first responders that are also being modified to revolutionize some arguments in health which I know but won’t enumerate here.
I’m in healthcare myself, and permit me to assure you of something I’m sure you already know. There are a lot of ‘services’ that ought not to exist. If he cut the budget and staff for these services (and believe me, I can’t communicate how much scorn I put into the pronunciation of that word), then, more power to him. I’m thrilled to hear from you that ‘health services to thousands’ were eliminated/gutted. About your comment of the health ranking going from 48 to 50, I’d ask who is rating the states (in the interest of legitimacy, many agencies list the US as one of the worst places to live, no. 12 for human rights, etc.) and say that sometimes, things get worse before they get better.
But I’m not trying to sway the opinion you already appear to have formed.
LOL...I can just picture the muslim convert to "Christianity" challenging a Hindu convert to Catholicism about his change.
Look, this is FR. No one falls for that dumb hyperbole... Seconds??? Please, spare us
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