Monday, May 05, 2008

The GOP VP Whispering Campaign Names Bobby Jindal

Can you say McCain-Jindal? It doesn't quite roll off the tongue just yet, and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal isn't exactly a household name, but he has started to clean up the mess that is Louisiana.

It might be a bit too soon for him, but he's got more accomplished in his short term as governor than either Obama or Clinton - and has leadership as an executive, which neither Democrat can mention.

Jindal won election in largely Democrat controlled Louisiana after Democrat Kathleen Blanco completely botched the preparations for Hurricane Katrina and then screwed Louisianans by wailing that all that went wrong was the fault of others - particularly the feds, when state and local response in Louisiana was pitiful and could be summed up with the Ray Nagin Memorial Motor Pool where New Orleans Mayor Nagin complained that there weren't buses to take New Orleans residents to safety despite the fact that hundreds of buses were found sitting in their depots submerged after the levees broke. Blanco failed to issue necessary warnings to get state and local emergency response systems activated that would trigger federal assistance prior to the hurricane hitting, and the people of Louisiana truly wanted change.

Jindal has come in as a breath of fresh air and sought to clean up the ethical and moral morass of Louisiana politics, which includes graft, corruption, and overlooking basic needs like infrastructure (levees that failed because priorities didn't include ensuring that such facilities were properly constructed or maintained). He's not only the first Indian-American governor, but one of the youngest governors in the country.

It would certainly make an intriguing choice as McCain's vice president, but would it truly provide McCain with someone who provides the geographic assistance or cut into the demographics of his opponents, whether it is Obama or Clinton?

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