Jindal in Jaipur

Bobby Jindal may yet become the first desi governor of an American state. The current governor has seen the writing on the wall. It’s spelled ‘Katrina.’Polls showed Gov. Blanco badly trailing Rep. Bobby Jindal

Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (D) announced last night that she will not seek a second term this November, bowing to a political reality created by her handling of Hurricane Katrina… many party insiders argued that Blanco should step aside for the good of the party, pointing to internal polls that showed her trailing Jindal badly in hypothetical head-to-head match-ups. Her acknowledgment of the obvious revealed just how badly Blanco had been damaged…

Almost from the day of his congressional swearing-in, Jindal made clear he would seek a rematch in 2007 and formally declared his candidacy in late January… [Link]

More than 117,000 people whose homes were damaged in 2005 by hurricanes Katrina and Rita have applied for Road Home aid. As of this week, about 3,800 have received grants. [Link]

Gov. Blanco was ill-equipped to deal with the hurricane:

Time magazine labeled her one of the nation’s worst governors after the disaster, saying she should have had a plan to evacuate the poor and the elderly… she looked “dazed and confused” in the post-Katrina chaos… Blanco spent much of her 20-year political career moving steadily and quietly through Louisiana politics, rarely creating waves or controversy. Political insiders often criticized the former lieutenant governor as a lightweight — honest and hardworking but lacking in the skill and substance to make her a serious contender for governor. Blanco [is] a former high school business education teacher… [Link]

Jindal’s main opponent may be a former senator:

Attention immediately turned to former senator John Breaux (D-La.) who is seen as Democrats’ strongest potential candidate against Rep. Bobby Jindal, the likely Republican nominee… Republicans are clearly concerned by the prospect of a Breaux candidacy. The state party has already funded a flight of ads arguing that Breaux is no longer a Louisiana resident and therefore is ineligible to run for the state’s highest office.

State Democrats believe the eligibility requirement is fungible, especially when it comes to Breaux, who was born in Crowley, La., and spent more than three decades representing the state in the House and Senate. [Link]

Wonkette says Jindal’s gone to great lengths to ingratiate himself with NASCAR fans

[Jindal] personally delivered his and his wife’s third child early Tuesday morning — the ambulance had not yet arrived by the time Jindal’s son was born, and the Congressman was coached via telephone by a nurse…

They named the child Slade Ryan Jindal. Yes, they named him Slade. After presumably ruling out “Wizzard,” “Eno,” or “Roxy” (if it was a girl). [Link]

Related posts: Masters of disaster, Bobby Jindal: ustad of Indian culture