Assuming that Governor Jindal does remain Governor of Louisiana and not seek higher ground in Washington, he has plenty of fence-mending to do.

His own pollster shows that he has the resiliency to rebound in the eyes of the public.  After waffling on the Legislative pay raise issue, he dropped significantly.

According to John Maginnis in his Fax Weekly, “A poll done for the state Republican Party shows Gov. Bobby Jindal's popularity surging back after it sharply dipped during the legislative pay raise controversy.

  In the onMessage poll of 500 voters, 69 percent had a favorable opinion of him compared to 18 percent with an unfavorable opinion. The poll by Wes Anderson, whose firm worked for Jindal in the governor's race, was taken July 6-8, after Jindal vetoed the legislative pay raise but before he axed 258 spending items in the state budget.

   That marks a solid rebound from the 59 percent favorable impression and 36 percent unfavorable impression of him registered in a Southern Media poll taken just before the pay raise veto. Yet he is still not back to his peak of a 77 percent positive rating before the pay raise blow-up.”

Should Jindal stay in Louisiana, he is doing the right thing.  While other states are having significant budget problems and are showing modest growth at best, Louisiana revenues are booming.  With our budget fixed to oil prices and with our actual revenues almost certainly going to be more than the amount projected by the Revenue Estimating Conference, the government will be able to pay down its debt and make a dent into future investments.

Currently, Jindal is on the campaign trail of sorts, going from one town hall meeting to another which is a good thing for him to do.  The more hands he shakes with the voters, the more he listens to their needs, the more they see him in public, the better he will keep their support.

However, the two areas he sorely needs to work on during the “off-season” is patching up with the legislature and with the media.

While neither institution has absolute or even substantial power over the people in many ways they do have influence.

With either groups, Jindal would not do very well if they were polled.

Besides “the lack of trust issue” that popped up during and after the pay raise boil, the legislature ultimately can control Jindal’s budget and his legislative agenda.  However, many have told me that he was too detached, off in too many personal ventures, too inconsistent and not clear on his support of his own agenda.  Obviously, right now, many of them do not trust him and will not help him get his own legislative programs through the mill.  On this front, Jindal, the reform Governor could follow Buddy Roemer’s footsteps and become neutralized.

Also, in many respects, Jindal’s window to the outside world is through his press secretary, Melissa Sellers.  Her name often comes up in media circles and it is not in the most flattering of terms, to put it lightly.  Sellers is a young woman who is obviously trying to protect her boss but for the past year, she has done a disservice to him.  This does not suggest I believe she should be discharged which I have recommended in the past.  But, as I have told her personally, she should meet with the media and engage in a candid “pow wow”.  She is still in campaign mode and not in administration mode.  She could learn much from the local media, allow them to vent and make suggestions.  In turn, she can state her case and all of us can work together with much better trust.  Until she realizes that the media is not her adversary, and until she build bridges with those who want her to succeed, she will continue to look bad and in turn, make her boss appear disjointed.

Although Jindal has much going for him—his personal charm, his intelligence and a hot energy economy feeding Louisiana government, he must bridge those gaps with the legislature and the media.   His high numbers in the polls right now could soar even more or they can sour as they did weeks ago.  But, if he really wants to turn this state around, he needs to patch up those areas that failed in the past. 

The Governor has a chance to achieve many political and personal goals.  The more he does so, the better it will be for all of Louisiana.  So far this year, he has been less than candid with his words, has totally repulsed many in the legislature and has aggravated the “fourth estate” by not being “straight forward” at times.  This can change, hopefully, it will change.  We will all be better off if it does.

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