http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Will_Jindal_be_McCains_running_mate=
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Times Of India
Talk of McCain-Jindal ticket surfaces again
6 May 2008, 0001 hrs IST
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WASHINGTON: The historic prospect of putting a person of Indian origin
within a heartbeat of the US presidency -- a possibility more
incredible than having a woman or a black man in the White House --
has surfaced again.
Weeks after influential radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh first
floated the idea of having Bobby Jindal, the highest ranked Indian-
American politician in US history and newly elected governor of
Louisiana, as John McCain's running mate, Republican strategists are
once again said to be seriously weighing the idea.
At least four McCain staffers and advisers have mentioned the 36-year
old Jindal as a possible vice-presidential pick, the conservative
commentator William Kristol revealed on Monday, citing a host of
reasons for what could be a shock selection for the Grand Old Party.
Among the reasons: A Fox News poll showed that McCain led Obama in the
straight match-up, 46 to 43. But when voters were then asked to choose
between two tickets, McCain-Romney vs. Obama-Clinton, Obama-Clinton
won 47 to 41.
That reversal of a three-point McCain lead to a six-point deficit for
the McCain ticket suggests what might happen (a) when the Democrats
unite, and (b) if McCain were to choose a conventional running mate,
who, as it were, reinforced the Republican brand for the ticket,
Kristol observed in a column.
As the McCain aide put it, he said, "this is what will happen if we
run a traditional campaign; our numbers will gradually regress toward
the (losing) generic Republican number."
The McCain campaign is also aware that the electoral environment for
Republicans remains toxic, as evidenced by the second loss for the
party in by-elections in the last two months, including one last week
in which they lost a district they had held since 1974 and that Bush
had carried by almost 20 points in 2004.
Consequently, Republican strategists are "tempted by the idea of
picking someone so young, with real accomplishments and a strong
reformist streak," Kristol said, adding, picking Jindal might also be
a way to confront the issue of McCain's age (71), which private polls
and focus groups suggest could be a real problem.
"A Jindal pick would implicitly acknowledge the questions and raise
the ante. The message would be: 'You want generational change? You can
get it with McCain-Jindal =97 without risking a liberal and
inexperienced Obama as commander in chief,"' Kristol, a well known
Conservative pundit, observed.
Kristol also revealed that it was after McCain spent considerable time
with Jindal in New Orleans recently, and reportedly found him, as he
has before, personally engaging and intellectually impressive, that
the campaign's informal name-dropping of Jindal began.
However, Jindal has been circumspect, to the extent of sounding
lukewarm, to a vice-presidential calling.
The country's first ever Indian-American governor appeared on a Jay
Leno show last month to shoot down speculation that he was up for a
McCain ticket.
At an appearance around the same week at the National Press Club in
Washington DC, Jindal said "I think it would be presumptuous to turn
down something I've not been offered. I likened it earlier this week
to like going to high school and telling the prettiest girl in the
high school 'I'm not going to prom with you' before she asks me."
Talk about a McCain-Jindal ticket has resurfaced even as Democratic
contenders Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama square off for two more
primaries in Indiana and North Carolina on Tuesday to decide the party
nominee for the November presidential election.
Some observers have suggested that the fact Jindal appeared on the
Leno show itself is proof that he is seeking wider exposure and a
national platform.
They pointed out that he did not outright reject the possibility. It
is rare for state governors to make the Leno cut, unless it is someone
high-profile like Arnold Schwarzenegger.
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