I have heard the rumor that Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal may be a front runner for a Vice Presidential run playing second fiddle to John McCain. This worries me because one of the knocks against Jindal is that he does not stay in a position long enough to complete his mission. While it is pretty much his political opponents grasping at straws to try to make something negative stick, there is enough truth to it to make people a bit skittish in the voting booth. I am a big fan of Governor Jindal, read my blog in which I compared him to my political hero - Reagan. I hope he is smart enough and mature enough to not get stuck playing second fiddle to McCain.
How many 20th and 21st century vice presidents have gone on to be president? Let's think about that question. Teddy Roosevelt became the first president of the 20th century because William McKinley was shot and killed. I love Teddy Roosevelt but, Roosevelt was bumped to V.P. by Republicans that were trying to bury his career because T.R. was seen as a loose cannon. I could make a comparison between Jindal and T.R. in terms of being young and really intelligent, but let's face it Jindal and T.R. are more different than the same and Jindal is certainly no loose cannon. Plus you might notice that T.R. did not move from V.P. to president via an election. You really do not want to become president because someone died. Vice President Calvin Coolidge replaced Warren G. Harding in 1923. Harding died of a heart attack before the end of his term. Some historians believe that the heart attack had been brought about because of the Tea Pot Dome scandal. I do not think Jindal wants to be remembered as the a 21st century Calvin Coolidge and note once again Coolidge became president not by way of election but because Harding died. Harry Truman became President upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt and was saddle with World War II and the decision to drop the Atomic Bomb. Not a good situation. Richard Nixon didn't have to take office because of a death but, does Jindal really want to be considered the Nixon of our times? President Ford took office when Nixon resigned. And finally George Bush, the elder, won an election after he served as Ronald Reagan's Vice President. Bush is really the only V.P. that became President in modern times that is not in a totally unenviable position. I think Bush, the elder, was successful in his bid for the presidency because Ronald Reagan was such an icon. You never hear someone say that they are a "Bush Republican" like older Democrats will call themselves an "F.D.R. Democrat" or like I and many others will refer to themselves as "Reagan Republicans." I like Bush the elder a whole lot but, I think Jindal has a better place if he waits, rolls up his sleeves and gets to work in Louisiana. He will inspire the whole country by showing us what he can do as a chief executive saddled with a clearly difficult task - changing Louisiana for the better.
Being Vice President is really cool and it is a great honor, but you have to pick your places. Jindal is nothing like McCain in terms of political philosophy. I am going to vote for McCain when he gets the GOP nomination. However, it is not a forgone conclusion that McCain or any Republican can win this time around. Obama seems to be getting the biggest play. Of course, the nature of predicting politics is much akin to trying to pin down a whisp of smoke in a wrestling contest. One thing is for certain, if Louisiana's Governor Bobby Jindal jumps ship and runs for Vice President, that likely will be his last hurray on the election merry-go-round. While it is cool to be Vice President, it is not an upwardly mobile position and it seems like a really boring, do nothing sort of position. At least, that is what a lot of us plebs think. I have confidence Jindal will show us that he is smart enough to respectfully decline the position of Vice President and will be brave enough to tackle the monumental problems that Louisiana is facing. At his age he can and should wait for the next opportunity. If he does a good job in Louisiana, the opportunity will be greater down the road.
