Bobby Jindal – the _

The McCain campaign is adding spices into the US Presidential race by mentioning Jindal’s name.

That reversal of a three-point McCain lead to a six-point deficit for the McCain ticket suggests what might happen (a) when the Democrats unite, and (b) if McCain were to choose a conventional running mate, who, as it were, reinforced the Republican brand for the ticket. As the McCain aide put it, this is what will happen if we run a traditional campaign; our numbers will gradually regress toward the (losing) generic Republican number.

Maybe that’s why, in separate conversations last week, no fewer than four McCain staffers and advisers mentioned as a possible vice-presidential pick the 36-year-old Louisiana governor, Bobby Jindal. They’re tempted by the idea of picking someone so young, with real accomplishments and a strong reformist streak. [McCain-Jindal? William Kristol. New York Times. May 5 2008]

Who is Jindal?

A young governor of Louisiana.

If McCain picks Jindal as his running mate, the Republican Party may have found their answer to Obama.

[1418] Of Governor Bobby Jindal

When I read the NYT today, I said, wow:

NEW ORLEANS, Oct. 21 — The first words from Bobby Jindal to his supporters after he won the Louisiana governor’s race on Saturday night were not about his victory, but L.S.U.’s triumph over Auburn the same day.

The message could not have been clearer: I’m one of you, a normal, red-blooded football-loving Louisiana guy. It is a theme that seems to have informed the youthful Republican congressman’s every step, from his decision at age 4 to jettison his given name of Piyush for that of a character in the television series “The Brady Bunch” to the attentive faith-infused courting of conservatives that led to his victory on Saturday with 54 percent of the vote.

Mr. Jindal’s efforts only highlight, though, what is glaringly obvious to anyone who sees and hears the slight 36-year-old son of immigrants from India. He is a highly unusual politician, having become the nation’s first Indian-American governor in a Southern state where race is inseparable from politics. [In a Southern State, Immigrants’ Son Takes Over. Adam Nossiter. NYT. October 22 2007]

And a Republican no less.