Too Good For #2

Sphere: Related Content

Bobby Jindal just may be the future of the Republican Party. Thirty-seven years old, the son of Indian (legal!)immigrants, he is a wunderkind with a resume that would make the average over-achiever feel like a slacker. Graduating high school at 16 he went on to get his undergraduate degree at Brown, then on to a Rhodes Scholarship. He's was a 2 term Congressman, youngest-ever president of the University of Louisiana System and was appointed by President Bush in 2001 to be Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for Planning and Evaluation. And in January of this year he was sworn in as Governor of Louisiana.


And now, 4 months later his name is being thrown around as a possible running mate for the not-37-year-old John McCain. Bill Kristol today says that there seems to be a lot of enthusiasm in the McCain camp over the idea as they believe that Jindal supplies McCain with enough of an image of change to compete with Obama or Clinton's regular mantra.

Yuval Levin, over at NRO is a fan of the idea as well, answering those who are not are sure, countering most of their objections with the the argument that if Jindal helps McCain defeat the Dems who are getting ready to bail on Iraq, any other argument against his running immediately becomes moot.


But this argument would only hold if Jindal looks to be the only way McCain can win and there is no real evidence to indicate this might be the case. As we've so frequently been told, the VP doesn't pull the votes in, the top of the ticket either does or he doesn't. The VP is either a pleasant irrelevancy or a possible drag.


I'm more convinced by those who are skeptical. Kathryn Jean Lopez at NRO feels that Jindal needs time as Governor so that he can implement real conservative policies and show the Libs what leadership is all about.


Ed Morrissey at Hot Air feels that, although Jindal is a whiz-kid, he's inexperienced on the national stage and feels that Obama's stumbles show what happens when the unprepared jump into the pool with the big boys.


I think both Morrissey and Lopez are probably on the mark. I also think that Jindal would be wasted in the Vice Presidency. The Vice Presidency is the next worst thing to being sentenced to a SuperMax prison. Instead of Jindal accomplishing things his way he would just become part of the McCain team and let's face it, a McCain presidency is bound to leave conservatives gnashing their teeth and rending their garments daily. And Bobby Jindal would have to be just another loyal soldier supporting crappy, statist policies. I'd rather see him out there showing the way than have him straight jacketed and pimping McCain-ism.

Let Jindal be Jindal. No Vice President Jindal. Please.

Doug Mataconis of Below the Beltway finds himself on the side of the skeptics, as well.