While the Republican Governors are meeting this week, many of the cameras and stories are focusing on Sarah Palin, few on Bobby Jindal.

Which raises the obvious question—if the 2012 primaries were held today, would both Bobby Jindal and Palin be running for President for the GOP target?  Both are darlings of the conservative base, both are young and intelligent and both appear to be very personally ambitious.

Obviously, Jindal and Palin are not the only names that will fill the primary bin, if at all.  Palin has not ruled out the run for the position and many pundits including this writer believe Jindal is going through the motions for a Presidential jog.

I have already urged Governor Jindal to focus on rebuilding Louisiana and not worry about his own career so any more discussion about this issue would superfluous. 

What is more important right now is for Governor Jindal to use his skills and newfound popularity to help bring home necessary money for infrastructure.

With everyone being bailed out in a horrible economy and with oil prices falling through the floor, Louisiana more than Jindal needs the national publicity to keep our plight on the national stage in front of the worldwide cameras.

We are hearing that unless we bail out the auto industry, there might be a loss of three million jobs this next year.  Obviously, the plight of the industry has been due to its own neglect and other factors such as becoming uncompetitive with foreign auto makers.

Much of New Orleans and Louisiana was damaged due to reasons that were not its own making.  New Orleans flooded due to broken federally-built levees and flood walls under the control of the federal government.  Nothing can stop the wind damage from hurricanes but Louisiana has changed its building code to mitigate further damage.

The ports of Louisiana play an integral role in the flow of commerce.  With the expansion of the Panama Canal, Louisiana can certainly be a bigger player in this international field. 

In short, Louisiana needs a voice to remind the world that it is ailing from four hurricanes.  While we have tremendous potential, our schools, our government buildings, our businesses, our other infrastructure have been supremely damaged, directly related to the storms.  Also, we need the wetlands and the entire hurricane protection fortress in place, sooner rather than later.

Our  Governor can play a major role in keeping the plight and the opportunities of Louisiana in the consciousness of Congress and the Obama administration as both receive pressure from other hands pulling money in other directions.

Yes, Louisiana must do what it can do by itself.  I am not asking for a bailout.  I am saying that Louisiana by nature of geography is an important place on the map.  It suffered damage not due to its own fault.  The voice heard by the state urging for federal assistance to compensate us for what we have lost should be that of Governor Jindal’s.     He has the charisma and the heart.  The key question is does he have the "staying power" and focus?  We will see.

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