Governor Bobby Jindal deserves some credit.  Last Sunday when all of Mr. McCain’s suitors for the second spot on the GOP ballot were gushing on the morning news shows about the prospect of being tapped, there was Jindal reaffirming his disinterest an office that has been mocked by two-centuries’ worth of frustrated occupants.

            When the “Jindal for Veep” speculation first began, many Louisiana politicos speculated that his political ascension was at hand.  After all, Jindal’s resume indicated that he was like lightning: brilliant and flashy but not in any particular spot very long.

            But Louisiana’s “young man in a hurry” proved his critics wrong with his relatively early renunciation, a shrewd move with his eye on re-election in 2011.

            After dousing the veep talk, Jindal seemed a lock for what is considered the third best spot at the convention: the keynote speaker.  There was even a Facebook page with over 600 members dedicated to promoting Jindal for the prominent speaking duty.  But alas it was not to be.

            The Republican nominee tapped former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani for that role at the convention.  Why McCain would use a slot generally reserved for an up and coming party figure for someone who 1) already has 100% name recognition and 2) spent tens of millions of dollars setting a new Fool’s Gold standard of mismanaged presidential campaigns while receiving one fewer delegate than Duncan Hunter.

            So instead of giving America a chance to transform a rising star into a quasi-household name overnight, as the Democratic keynote address did for Barack Obama in 2004, McCain will treat television viewers for microwaved leftovers from the previous convention.  While Jindal, Alaska governor Sarah Palin and former Maryland lieutenant governor Michael Steele will receive their brushes with the limelight, what sense does it make use the traditional media spring-board for somebody everyone already knows and would draw interest and viewers regardless of the time he spoke?

            It’s been speculated that McCain, ever mindful of his base- you know Obamicans like Lincoln Chaffee and former Iowa congressman Jim Leach (you might remember him from his refusal to vote for Newt Gingrich’s re-election as speaker in 1997…or more than likely you don’t remember him at all)- hopes to throw a prominent pro-choicer out there to make up for his seemingly obligatory selection of a conservative running mate. 

            Such posturing is unnecessary, and perhaps lost since liberal Republicans didn’t even line up behind Giuliani in the primaries, failing to exploit the divided field of self-proclaimed conservatives.  I guess McCain should at least be credited with trading a social liberal keynote speaker for a social conservative running mate and not the other way around. 

            But back to the lost opportunities.  Jindal is currently slated to talk after McCain’s mystery running mate has commenced his address (the Palin dream is over- she’s scheduled to talk on Tuesday evening), which means many people will have flipped the channel to any given Law & Order acronym by the time the Louisiana governor makes his way to the podium.

            And so Louisiana’s leader will be casting pearls before C-Spanesque audience. 

            While landing the keynote speaker gig would have helped inspire happy thoughts amongst some of a future presidential library two blocks from Tiger Stadium, the state Jindal serves would have been the big winner. 

            Though this will come as a shock to many, Louisiana has quite the reputation.  We’re kind of like the Amy Winehouse of politics.  Except unlike the troubled singer, we finally made it to rehab last October by kicking the habit of promoting courthouse pols to the fourth floor of the Capitol with a new kind of governor…and I’m not just talking about physical appearances here. 

After decades of tolerating the politics of “feel good”, the state electorate finally ate their peas and carrots and embraced politicians of the “do good” variety.  Pith has finally been replaced with progress.

            Tax cuts, ethics legislation and a governor who exudes intelligence and competence are part of the story of the new Louisiana.  The bigger political rock star Jindal becomes, the more eager corporate executives in other states will be to meet with to talk business and sow the seeds of economic development. 

            But the kind of “bounce” Louisiana was hoping to get out of the convention won’t be what we had hoped it would be.