I'm putting my chips on Jindal. As I've said for quite some time now, he's the X factor risk McCain almost needs to take. As one commentator aptly observed:
Second, and more positively for McCain, naming Jindal would be a major symbolic step in fundamentally re-branding the Republican party. Jindal, an Indian-American, would put a whole new face on a party that is widely seen by voters as controlled by old white men. A Jindal pick is the definition of unorthodox. But, in an election cycle where the Republican brand is as badly tarnished as at any time in recent memory, a "Hail Mary" (or "Hail Bobby") may be warranted.
My initial reaction? This must be evidence of widespread low-level corruption. Admittedly, I am not intimately familiar with the exact scope and nature of the required disclosures, so it may in fact be overly onerous to low level officials. Here's a pretty innocuous summary of the requirements:
The legislation outlines seven areas of disclosure for the commissioner and his or her spouse, including name and brief description of businesses in which the person holds an office or at least 10 percent stake; gaming interests; certification of federal and state income tax returns and a promise that neither has personal or financial interest in entities that would pose a conflict of interest that could sway performance on the public board.
But to leave levees and their attendant systems suddenly vulnerable in any way post-Katrina during hurricane season seems selfish and juvenile. The levee boards are local governmental boards to the best of my knowledge, but it seems leaving crucial safety systems to the elements at this time of year, though less dramatic, might be considered... loosely analogous to the Massachusetts police strike put down by Governor Calvin Coolidge back in 1919. With vice presidential consequences...
I wonder if Governor Jindal will have anything to say.
Which man will he pick? Remember, Lindsay Graham and Joe Lieberman will be present as well.
What do I think is the politically savvy pick for McCain?
Go with Jindal. Jindal all the way.
Bobby Jindal is, pure and simple, worth talking about. He brings the ticket intellectual heft, diversity, youth, unique, unorthodox strength in a key region, and even some experience. He stands to inject the GOP with some Obamic qualities. It's the gamble McCain needs to make right now, as I've discussed.
When the Democrats coalesce again around a single nominee, McCain is going to need an X-factor to make his candidacy and his ticket worth talking about again - or, as I've said before, he'll face a Goldwater-style loss in the fall as the hard right stays home and independents cleave to Obama.
On February 25 of this year, I did a brief post on some possibilities for McCain's running mate.
Some discounted Bobby Jindal as an option in the comments, but I held out:
"...he's going to need something to spice up his ticket and put him back in play in a big way. That's where a woman or minority, especially a relatively younger one, would shake things up."
As my roommate Phil and a few others can attest, I've been arguing for some time now that Jindal represents a better choice than most people would suspect, mainly given his ability to throw a new, uncertain element into the election dynamic. At this point, I think McCain needs a seismic shift to get people talking about him and considering him in a new light. A little Jindalquake would get things shaking appropriately.
Indeed, Bill Kristol provides additional fodder for the concept with some evidentiary tidbits in a NYT column today:
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.
It might also be a way to confront the issue of McCain’s age (71), which private polls and focus groups suggest could be a real problem. A Jindal pick would implicitly acknowledge the questions and raise the ante. The message would be: “You want generational change? You can get it with McCain-Jindal — without risking a liberal and inexperienced Obama as commander in chief.”
I think a McCain-Jindal ticket would be a brilliant, albeit necessarily risky move. Given the generic ballot, McCain is facing a "what do I have to lose?" scenario where he will almost certainly go down unless he plays an unorthodox game.
Adding Jindal to the ticket immediately calls the current playing field into question. Suddenly, the Republican ticket includes a young minority with a tad bit of executive experience who won convincingly in a Southern state and has rammed through ethics reform immediately upon taking office in a notoriously corrupt locale. Oh yeah, and he's a Rhodes Scholar. And Rush Limbaugh has called him the next Ronald Reagan. And he made a nice little appearance on Leno the other night:
Jindal's inclusion would seriously complicate the options and angles of attack for whichever Democrat ultimately wins the long bloody slog to Denver. It would open the race up with a new significant factor, something McCain desperately needs to do if he wants to avoid a Goldwater-style defeat in November.
This is an election cycle full of the potential for historic firsts. Tossing Jindal into the mix, green as he may be, doesn't seem quite as "out of the question" as it might in a different, more normal time.
The clash between the judiciary, which wants to impose the rule on itself, and Jindal, who has, it seems to me, masterfully pitted the legislature against the court along checks and balances lines, is rather refreshing to see.
The strategy certainly puts the judiciary into a corner, framing its argument in a poor ethical light...
[Justice] Kimball, speaking publicly on the issue for the first time, told lawmakers they should remove judges from the bill and instead ask the seven-member high court, which regulates the state judiciary, to adopt rules similar to those legislators decide to impose on themselves.
Self-governing judiciary?
"We're not here to oppose the concept of disclosure," Kimball told the panel, but "we would rather have the opportunity to govern ourselves."
As the nation's first governor of Indian descent - and the youngest current governor when he takes office - Jindal pulled off quite a feat. Admittedly, Blanco's performance during and after Katrina did not provide a very high baseline of expectations to exceed.
The week leading up to the historic election brought a few friends calling from the Badger State.
UW alum Chirag Shah, friend of the blog, came down from D.C. with a national crew to help on the Jindal campaign's ground game. Everyone in the group learned how to pronounce "beignets" and "cafe au lait." He makes it sound as if the victory party last night in Baton Rouge went well after a few long days of doors and other visibility activities. While the mood was jubilant, he hinted that some folks sensed the victory might be the last bright spot on the national GOP horizon for some time.
Jesse Russell of Madison's Dane101 also hit the Big Easy for a conference this week. He's not exactly a Jindal fan, but our dinner and drinks group on Magazine Street talked more about local oddities (like the pronunciation of the word "orange" as "urnj") and culture than anything else. It sounds like Dane101 is doing well.
Bessie Cherry, also along on the visit, filled me in on Madison's newly re-opened Majestic Theater, which also seems to be humming along pretty nicely, almost as persistently as the electrical transformer that buzzed a few feet from us as we chatted above the street on the upper veranda at Balcony Bar.
This week was a long slog school-wise, and the visits proved to be just what the doctor ordered.
Palm fronds wave along the side of the front porch here at the coffeehouse*. The live oak on the curb isn't doing its job. The sun beats down through a space in the snaking boughs. This is one hot October for a Wisconsin boy.
The leftover Times-Picayune on the table says Bobby Jindal is heavily favored in the October 20th primary for Louisiana Governor, pulling over 46 percent in a poll while the other candidates don't even break 12 percent. Jindal is clearly the most well-known candidate, has the most funds, and, given Blanco's performance during and after Katrina, represents a clear divergence from the present. While some of his campaign ads wander into typical Republican rhetoric, I think his best argument is a simple demonstration of competence and organization given the landscape.
But this is Louisiania. It's a jungle primary. I wouldn't be surprised if it goes to a runoff even with the numbers as they are.
Today's readings for Torts are interesting, focusing on the duties of landowners for various types of individuals on their lands. One note about "child trespasser doctrine" brings to mind my grade school days and my extensive wanderings around the Wisconsin countryside to build forts and adventure through the woods with friends. Whew - we weren't liable.
Cars rumble down the shaded street. You can feel it when a big truck passes the banana tree across the way. People shout from the corner next to the bright blue tattoo shop and walk out from Le Bon Temps bar nextdoor. Beads hang from the wires overhead. A couple walks up the steps into the renovated shotgun, sweating noticeably.
It's nice to wear sandals.
*I've attempted to stop here twice before during normal hours to find it closed. This is NOLA, however. Good luck finding a place to eat after 9pm. But feel free to stay at the bar all night. And smoke while you're there.
DESCRIPTION: LIB began in January 2005 as an independent student blog at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. Today we feature:
A Peace Corps. volunteer in Azerbaijan,
a law student at Tulane in New Orleans, and
a UW-Madison Engineering student.
Steve, although a PC volunteer, in no way, shape, or form should be construed as speaking for either the Peace Corps or the US Government. Don't be dim and assume any sort of connection. The official statement reads: "This blog in no way represents the opinions of the Peace Corps or the U.S. government. Any post published by others on the blog (whether current members or guest posts we host from time to time) certainly do not reflect my sentiments, and should not be taken as anything other than the opinion of the poster."
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