Bobby Jindal is the man! McCain needs to make a bold move, and Jindal is it. He is my man. Here’s just a short preview of Bobby Jindal. More to come. Thanks for Stopping by. TEF
Bobby Jindal
With a fresh face, conservative credentials and a reformist streak, Bobby Jindal, 37 years old, has enjoyed his share of buzz as a potential vice-presidential pick. John McCain will have to decide if that excitement is enough to supplement Jindal’s four and a half years of experience as an elected official.
![[McCain Jindal]](http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NA-AQ730_JINDAL_20080604202818.jpg) |
| Associated Press |
| Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal at a McCain campaign event earlier this month. |
Jindal won the 2007 governor’s race, making him the youngest serving governor in the country and the first with family roots in India. Shortly after taking office this year, he pushed a major ethics overhaul through the Louisiana legislature, which has had its share of ethical challenges; the move delivered on a campaign promise and solidified Jindal’s reputation for reform, something he shares with McCain.
Before becoming governor, Jindal, who had run unsuccessfully for governor in 2003, served two terms in Congress, winning the support of four in five voters in Louisiana’s most conservative district.
The Republican wunderkind’s public service began in 1996, when he took over as secretary for Louisiana’s health department. Jindal managed a half-billion dollar turnaround of the state Medicaid program, saving it from bankruptcy and earning himself an appointment as president of the Louisiana public university system before he turned 30.
Unlike McCain, Jindal’s right-wing record — opposing stem cell research and abortion without exception, supporting intelligent design in public schools — has earned him the allegiance of social conservatives. Jindal, who converted to Catholicism as a teenager, has also impressed evangelicals with his religious testimonies — and raised some eyebrows with a 1994 article on his role in the hours-long exorcism of a close friend.
As the son of immigrants and a compelling voice from the next generation of his party, some supporters see Jindal as the Republican answer to Barack Obama, but the new governor’s thin resume in elected office could blunt efforts to attack Obama as inexperienced. And Jindal’s massive popularity in Louisiana doesn’t do much to change the electoral map. McCain may decide it’s worth it, though, for a running mate who can tout a reform record to the center of the electorate and conservative bona fides to the right.
Bio Brief:
