From miles away in New Orleans, Jindal shines at GOP convention

ST. PAUL — Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s performance during Hurricane Gustav has increased his stock for a future bid for the Republican presidential nomination, party activists said here Tuesday.

Jindal benefited from days of national media coverage showing him directing a successful mass evacuation from New Orleans, a stark contrast from the bungled response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

{mosads}His performance in the crisis was noted 1,000 miles away at the GOP convention, which at one point was thought to feature the 37-year-old wunderkind as Sen. John McCain’s running mate.

Jindal was among those rumored to be on McCain’s (R-Ariz.) shortlist. But McCain ended up passing on Jindal, who has been Louisiana’s governor for less than a year, and instead chose Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who is 44 and has led her state the past two years.

Palin in the past week has learned some of the harsh realities of being on a national ticket.

She’s been engulfed by media attention, including revelations that her 17-year-old daughter is pregnant.

Meanwhile, Jindal, who canceled plans to attend the convention to weather the storm with fellow Louisianans, shined in the national spotlight this week.

 “I think Gov. Bobby Jindal will be the president of the United States one day, probably sooner than later,” said Chadwick Melder, 37, a political consultant and delegate from Louisiana.

If McCain loses to Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) in November, some delegates expect Jindal to seek the GOP nomination in 2012. Under that scenario, he could face some formidable opponents, including former Govs. Mitt Romney (Mass.) and Mike Huckabee (Ark.), who both attracted a national following this year, or perhaps Palin, if she can avoid political damage this election cycle.

If he ran in 2012, Jindal could still be labeled as too young for the job and his staunchly conservative views could turn away independent voters.

“I see him as a president eight years from now,” said Nevada delegate and the treasurer of the Clark County Republican Party, Swadeep Nigam, who shares Jindal’s Indian heritage.

{mospagebreak}Jindal has routinely deflected questions about his future ambitions, and a spokeswoman could not be reached for comment.

Jindal, whose legal first name is Piyush, is the highest elected Indian American official in the country. Jindal, whose parents emigrated from India to the U.S., was born and raised a Hindu before converting to Catholicism in college.

A Rhodes scholar, Jindal turned down offers to attend medical and law schools at both Harvard and Yale, and later became the top Louisiana health official at the age of 24. He later took a job as an assistant secretary at the U.S. Health and Human Services Department, and was elected to the House in 2004.

{mosads}His rapid rise in politics has been compared to Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.), who was an obscure state senator just four years ago. And Jindal was expected to land a plum speaking spot at this week’s convention, but canceled his appearance here to oversee his state’s response to the hurricane. In 2004, it was Obama’s much-praised convention speech that propelled him to stardom and helped pave the way for his nomination for president last week.

Jindal may have missed out on giving a nationally televised address, but the success so far of dealing with Gustav has bolstered his credentials among the right.

“See how Katrina was handled three years ago and now see how prepared [Louisiana was] for the hurricane,” said Sampat Shivangi, a Mississippi delegate of Indian ethnicity.

Kishan Putta, founder of the group Indians for McCain, said that he and other young Indian Republicans would hold a fundraiser for Jindal after the election, and expected a drive to recruit the young governor into a future presidential campaign.

But Jindal’s support among Indian Americans is not universal. Some lament his staunchly conservative views, such as on creationism and school prayer, and accuse him of hiding his Indian roots.

“The concerns I heard from some of my Indian American friends refer to him as the black sheep of the family,” said Jay Chaudhuri, president of the liberal Indian American Leadership Initiative.

For some convention-goers, however, his performance has made him this week’s star, despite being 1,000 miles away.

Puneet Ahluwalia, a GOP delegate from Virginia, said he would try to bring Jindal to his home state to campaign and fundraise for the Republican gubernatorial candidate in next year’s race.

“I think his success helps breeds success in other states,” Ahluwalia said.