Louisiana Gov. Jindal, Not To Be McCain�s VP

by Christopher Tidmore

At a press conference on Thursday in front of St. David’s Catholic Church in the Ninth Ward, Senator John McCain was asked once more by the traveling press corps and local reporters if Bobby Jindal was going to be his running mate. Considering that the newly elected Louisiana Governor was standing beside him at the time, it is hardly surprising that the presumptive Republican Presidential candidate rambled an inconclusive response.

It was a contrast to McCain’s previous definite statements that “Corps must finish its projected work on time” by 2011. New Orleans “must have Category 5 protection”. The state was denied good levees because members of Congress “were too concerned with projects that were not priorities” with some of “that pork ending up here”. And finally, “affordable housing is a major problem that we must work on” if the Crescent City was to recover.

On the subject of the Louisiana Governor’s VP potential, however, the Senator engaged in a wandering explanation that said essentially that Jindal was a great governor embarked on a path of reform, he had many responsibilities, there were many considerations, right now there were many factors, and there was time before a decision.

Then, McCain paused and added that he did not want Jindal’s family to experience “the loss of privacy” that being a prime candidate for Vice President might bring. Unlike the previous statements, this one was delivered levelly to the Washington Press Corps members traveling with the Senator on the “Straight Talk Express” bus parked nearby and the local media who had been tormenting the Governor with this very same question for months.

(Jindal, though he did not comment on the issue at the appearance with McCain, has said in the past that while flattered by the attention, he was too busy as Governor to even think about the possibility.)

Several weeks before McCain’s appearance at that church on St. Claude Ave., State GOP Chairman Roger Villere found himself sitting beside the Senator in a van on its way to New Orleans’ Armstrong Airport. Villere, McCain, and five of the Senator’s closest staffers sat huddled together. The staff members, driver excluded, were concentrated on their laptops and blackberrys, seemingly ignoring the State Chairman on the Senator.

Then, McCain asked Villere’s opinion on possible Vice Presidential choices. As the Chairman recounted to Bayoubuzz.com, he replied, “I don’t know, Senator, but I’ll tell you one thing; You Can’t Have Bobby Jindal!”

The staffers who had been typing away, stopped abruptly. They looked up in shock. Villere later said, “I don’t think they had ever heard anybody tell McCain no before.”

The Senator laughed, amused by the exchange, and Villere went on to explain that Jindal was needed for his reform initiatives here at the present time. The GOP Chairman further explained that if the Louisiana Governor became McCain’s VP, his resignation upon entering the White House would bring Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu on to the Capitol’s fourth floor.

As Villere put it, “To have a liberal governor right now would undue everything Louisiana needs to reform.”

For those focused on Jindal’s Vice Presidential chances, Villere outlined that Jindal, who has been in office for just a handful of months, would have to give up his focus on reform to mount a candidacy, making a McCain choice unlikely.

Moreover, what Villere did not mention, and some political observers have noted, Jindal does not bring as much to a McCain ticket as several other of the first tier VP aspirants.

While the Louisiana Governor is something of a proverbial rock star of the conservative movement nationally, McCain faces an emboldened Democratic Party. His choice must not only reassure conservative voters but make real inroads in a swing state to win. Louisiana is most assuredly not on the fence. McCain leads both Obama and Clinton by wide margins in the Pelican State.

With the exception of South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford--a tax cutting, socially conservative, image of young reformer finishing his term in office with a GOP successor waiting in the wings—all of McCain’s reported first tier choices come from swing states.

One choice, Budget Director Rob Portman represented a key congressional district in Ohio. With the state’s Governor Strickland on Obama’s and Clinton’s VP short list, and Bush’s mere 300,000 vote victory in 2004, Portman is a heavy favorite. His economic credentials likewise strengthen McCain, and his mastery of domestic policy fills key deficit areas in the Senator’s portfolio.

Another, Florida Governor Charlie Crist, while in office only two years, has a command of domestic policy that McCain seeks. His endorsement of the Senator likely swung the state and the nomination to McCain. And, Florida is always in play.

But the most popular choice is a name unknown to most Southern voters. Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty is arguably the most conservative governor in that state’s modern history. He has cut taxes several times, served as a co-chair of the Governor’s Association, and led on education reform. More importantly, Pawlenty secures a state that George W. Bush lost narrowly.

Should Ohio go for Obama (or Clinton if she manages to win the Democratic nod in an upset), McCain is already at 268 electoral votes--if the other Bush states stay in his column. Even without Iowa, which has wavered recently due as much to McCain’s anti-ethanol position as a general Democratic swing in the state, the 10 electoral votes from Minnesota could still determine the election.

Moreover, Minnesota will see one of the most competitive Senate races this season, with incumbent (and close ally of McCain) Norm Coleman facing off against former Saturday Night Live comic Al Franken. The race is tighter than one might image (unless the reader remembers that Minnesota also produced Gov. Jesse Ventura).

This year, Republicans in swing states are in trouble, and McCain has repeatedly voiced his intention to work on candidate’s behalf to insure that Democratic pickups do not create a veto proof Senate for President McCain. He has already spent time with Susan Collins of Maine and John Sununu of New Hampshire, states McCain enjoys a native popularity uncommon to Republicans. By putting Pawlenty on the ticket, the Senator would be telling Minnesotans that their state is just as important to his modern GOP.

The truth is, Louisiana is already in McCain’s pocket. John McCain leading the ticket makes very little difference to the state's ticket splitting voters as to whether to vote for incumbent Mary Landrieu. In a close election, in other words, the mathematics precludes a Jindal Vice Presidency.

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