Blogs For John McCain’s Victory

McCain-Jindal?

May 6th, 2008 at 05:55pm Geoff

A few rumors have flown around the web of late that Sen. McCain may be considering adding Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana as his running mate. Gov. Jindal has been my dream candidate for sometime. He is extremely bright, well-spoken, and accomplished for a political leader of only thirty-six years of age. Regardless of whether he ends up on this ticket or not, I have the wishful suspicion that he will be the party’s presidential nominee in the not-too-distant future.

With that said, I fear the time may not be ripe for him. As I just mentioned, he is only 36 years of age and has not even served a year in the Louisiana governor’s mansion, though his other governmental experience is nothing to snub one’s nose at. Ross Douthat makes some solid arguments for him, speculating that his youth “might also highlight Barack Obama’s youth and inexperience, suggesting to voters that perhaps Obama is well suited to be vice president too, but that someone with a little more gravity and experience should sit in the big chair.”

In my mind that is all well and good but it ignores another dynamic that might spring from this scenario. Sen. McCain’s seasoned age is likely to place a special importance in whom he selects as his running mate, for that designee will be only one missed heartbeat away from assuming the helm of the ship of state. If voters do not have confidence that Gov. Jindal would be prepared to do this—though he is eminently more qualified to serve as President at this moment than is Sen. Obama—it will only work to the ticket’s detriment.

Let him serve a couple terms as governor, I say, cleaning up and rebuilding Louisiana and thereby building credibility for himself as a potential President. In 2012 or 2016 he will be a compelling nominee and leader for this party, by which time he might have to clean up another substantial mess created by a President Obama.