Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Bobby Jindal and Barack Obama: The comparions begin! (And, probably won't end)

Just the other day, the Washington Post had an interesting article that declared "Jindal May Prove To be Republicans' Version of Obama." The article states,

Already, a fierce fight is looming between him and other Republicans -- former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, who arrived in Iowa a couple of days before him, and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who is said to be coming at some point -- for the hearts of social conservatives.

Social conservatism appears to be the new "it" thing for Iowa Republicans, probably because they already view Obama as too liberal. Jindal fits into this mold well. He has very conservative policies, and, much like Palin and Huckabee, checks every box on the right.

What can Jindal do now? It's clear that Huckabee and Palin see themselves at the future of Washington Republicanism, but Jindal is the Governor of a state that has been in turmoil since 2005. For now, Jindal appears to be focused on Louisiana, instead of a White House bid. This seems like the best approach, but that doesn't mean that someone (meaning me) from The Atlantic shouldn't keep an eye on him, just in case he does something of note. It's good to highlight the achievements and disappointments of contenders, even if they haven't officially stated that they're contenders yet.

Barack Obama had a lot of early buzz, and because of it, most of the potentially damaging stories were aired out during the early stages of the campaign. The longer one is in the public eye, the longer they're scrutinized, but sometimes that can be beneficial. Getting to say your piece early is helpful in politics and Jindal is in on the ground floor.

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