NYT: Louisiana's possible champion of the right - The New York Times - MSNBC.com Bobby Jindal News - The New York Times
McCain needs to make sure that the fundamentalist Christians show up to vote in the general and so far there isn't any guarantee that will happen. Could Jindal help him do that?
Plusses for Jindal:
1). Fundies and right wing Repubs like his policies on everything from creationism to 'free markets'.
2). He probably puts Louisiana firmly in the McCain camp.
3). He's smart and he's young.
4). He's brown and provides some camo cover against the racism charges that will likely accompany the actual racism that will be part of the Repub campaign against Obama.
Negatives for Jindal:
1). See #1 above. What attracts the loony right base voters will turn some independents from McCain to the Dems.
2). Louisiana is probably already in the Repub camp. Katrina has one huge silver lining for Bush and his party. It and the lack of response to it forced large numbers of mostly black Democrats out of the state.
3). See #3 above. One of the main selling points McCain will make to "the hard working white working people" against Obama is that Obama's a dark skinned eggheaded overeducated elitist. Jindal takes away the talking point.
4). Jindal is the son of Indian immigrant parents and he's pro free trade (and so 'outsourcing'). That further depresses the anti (illegal) immigration base vote of the Repubs. Sure, Jindal was born in the US (his mom was pregnant when they arrived) and his parents are legal, but since when are the red-meat nativists into the niceties of that kind of stuff? And who are the poster children for outsourcing? The Indian folks on the other end of the line when you're trying to figure out a computer glitch or some financial snafu.
5). Bobby's real name is Piyush Jindal and his wife is named Supriya Jindal. Doesn't exactly roll off the 'ol southern Ohio tongue does it? There goes the oomph behind the Barack "Barry" Obama remarks. Also he's converted to Christianity, (first as a Pentacostal and a Baptist and now as a Catholic) from Hinduism. "Hey Raylene, what's them Hindoo's believe anyway?" "Hell JimBob, I heerd they say you can be born again as a bug after ya die and some sort of elephant headed kid is one of ther many Gods. Probably just like them damn Mooslims."
6). Jindal took charge of Louisiana's health department and took the state from 48th in the nation in health care to 50th.
7). He takes away the "inexperienced" card that's the heart of McCain's campaign against Obama. Especially since he'll run a better than average chance of taking over as president from McCain.
Bobby Jindal of Louisiana as McCain VP? 
Dr. Naysay
