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First Read is an analysis of the day's political news, from the NBC News political unit. First Read is updated throughout the day, so check back often.

Chuck Todd, NBC Political Director

Mark Murray, NBC Deputy Political Director

Domenico Montanaro, NBC News Political Reporter



Jindal VP buzz

Posted: Wednesday, June 04, 2008 1:03 PM by Domenico Montanaro

From NBC/NJ's Carrie Dann
Two things:

1) The idea of joint town halls was most recently floated in May by McCain advisor Mark McKinnon, who has since stepped down from his official role after promising not to participate in the general election fight against Barack Obama. Asked about the proposal at the time, Obama responded that it would be "a great idea."

2) Interesting little veepstakes moment here in Baton Rouge this morning. John McCain was introduced by the Louisiana's veep-buzzworthy current Gov. Bobby Jindal. Jindal, in turn, was introduced by predecessor Buddy Roemer, a Dem-turned-Republican, who led the state from 1988 to 1992. Roemer's gushing praise of the young Indian-American governor did more than just touch on vice-presidential innuendo.

After a cadenced listing of McCain's best qualities, Roemer mentioned the recent VP speculation, saying that "his vice president might be in this room today!"

He went on, mentioning Jindal's Baton Rouge roots and, notably, his age. "He might be the only guy in America younger than my son -- and I'm not that old -- who is a great governor!” Roemer said.

But then Jindal jumped on stage, abruptly cutting off the next line in the litany of Roemer's compliments. "I thought I'd better rush up here before he gets me in any more trouble," he quipped.

McCain was later asked about Jindal's prospects for the vice presidency by a town hall participant. He was typically complimentary and also pointed out Jindal's young age. McCain said that Jindal has "earned a place" in the future of the Republican Party.

Jindal came to McCain's aid when a woman asked him about education in the state. Jindal described a proposed teachers' bill of rights and outlined some of the state's policies for reform.

After waiting for the audience's applause to die down, McCain said, "Well, I've gotta take him with me wherever I go."

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Comments

He has to put a woman on his ticket to grab Hillary's base.  It's the smartest thing he'll ever do...
Too young. He's a bright guy with a future, but not this time around for a national campaign.
Oh my.  How lame!  Jindal had to bail him out?  Pathetic, absolutely pathetic!
After all of the hype that the GOP have been putting into Obama being so "inexperienced", they want to float out Jindal for a possible VP spot???

Wow, how ironic is that. They would pretty much kill their very own talking point right there.

http://www.politivine.com
McCain can pick Jindal if he wants to make things REALLY hard on him this election.

He'd spend half his time explaining Jindal to the public anyway.
Last night, speaking from Louisiana, and now Jindal... I think McCain realizes he has work to do.  This is all about the electoral map.
BO 08
That's because you have no idea about education in the most neediest of places.  Take a tour as Obama suggested and maybe you too, will realize, that we need the money here, not in Iraq!
That kid looks and sounds a lot like Obama in style. He might be the real deal........I am hoping that McCain does not pick him, then Obama offers him a good position in his goverment.......both for strategy and to keep the competition close.
The VP choice for Senator McCain is clear. Pick a woman. Here are the possible options:

-Kay Bailey Hutchinson of Texas is another Senator. We do not need two Senators on the same ticket.

-Susan Collins of Main is another Senator.

-Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina is too old at 71.

-Christine Whitman - Former governor of New Jersey, a state possibly up for grabs. Former head of EPA, who broke with Bush administration; would appeal to independents. She does have the baggage from the EPA 9-11 pollution controversy - telling NY rescue workers that the air was safe after 9-11

-Sarah Palin of Alaska is the BEST choice. She's a woman - this will get many of Hillary's supporter. She's a governor, so this will bring the excutive-experience balance to the ticket. She's young (only 44) to balance McCain old image.

MccAin/Palin 2008
anything Sen. McCain suggests is never a good idea.  That phony smile that he's developed lately is frightening.
So how is Mccain supposed to sell people on Jindal when he is ten years younger than Obama at age 36.
and Mccain constantly says Obama is a young man.
Is this a prophecy that age is the most important issue for Mccain, and he better pick his successor
in the event of a stroke.
Yeah, McCain you will need an assistant every state that you campaign in this season.. Your only talking parts involve the surge.. and then as I fall asleep because I am absolutely unenthusiatic about your candidacy..I have to catch my self to wake up so that I can try to make something of your statements..

I have to say you are like a fighter that has truly passed his prime..I still respect you but can't possibly believe in you because you are an ole dog.. meaning you have been in washington longer than ALMOST everybody there, so its quit apparent that the longer politicians are in DC you will always fall prey to the politics and the money of DC.  

That is why I would rather give Obama a chance.. since I know that there is NO way in hell it can be worse than a Bushesque 7 years of horror..
Too funny...jindal has even less experience than obama...mccain can't select him or he will get the "experience" factor thrown in his face...remember jindal will be just one last mccain heartbeat away from the presidency
Yes, please choose him as VP.

It'll make the road to the White House for Obama even easier.
I doubt that Uncle Fluffy will select Jindal for his running mate.  The age difference between them is too great and the last thing the GOP wants is to do is emphasize that their nominee is...well...not as young as he used to be.

My bet is still on BFF Lieberman.
I'm sorry, who besides me, thinks that the Jindal for veep buzz, is all about theater?

If the dems had not had two ground breaking, minority candidates, I don't believe Jindal would have gotten close enough to McCain's back yard, the weekend of Memorial Day, to get so much as a whiff of the barbeque John had cook'in on the grill!  
They better pick someone quick because the War Gnome appears to be ready to implode.
In addition to some political concideration, I also wonder if Hillery Clinton is holding out for the Obama campaign to pay off Her personel campaign loans?
Yep! There is Sen. McCain campaigning again while there is Senate business to be done.

Where is Sen. Obama?  Doing Senate business a budget bill.

Oh! That is right that is something Sen. McCain admittedly does not understand.
Many of us knew from the start, Jindal was at very  the top of McCain's VP list.

Jindal is the only VP contender who could possibly rival what the republicans feel, is Obama's appeal: not caucasian, youth, energy, and authenticity.

McCain needs these in spade. The only problem is, Jindal has too much of them. He would overshadow McCain by just standing in the background.



i hope he picks jindal
such an extremist anti-choice vp, with a very elderly president, will make any bitter hillary supporters think again before mindlessly voting repub in november
Why is Obama too young and inexperienced, at least according to Senator McCain, but Jindal is not?

Or is okay for a republican VP candidate NOT to be ready on Day One?  

I guess hypocrisy is good when it's in a good cause.

Let's have a town hall meeting under the Big Sky in Montana and talk about THAT.
so mcbomb found another liberman,someone to answer questions for him.ON EDUCATION, bomber dosn't know enough to answer for him self PLEASE.We can't afford another dimwit who knows very little about what most of us think are important issues.And tries to pass himself off  as a knowing canidate with allllllllllllllllll that experence.I hope that Obama execpts ,Bomber will be sorry he ever open his mouth.
They need to leave Bobby Jindal where he is to fix one of the biggest messes democrat corruption ever created. He's an impressive guy who unlike McCain actually believes in conservative ideas. the "leadership" of the Republican party is pretty damn sorry right now, but don't drag the future down with it.
Jindal sounds good until you look at how very right wing he has been in his past statements. I would hope he would gravitate more to the center as McCain has been doing lately.  I think Barack Obama will be a good influence on the Republican party.
We the feminist Obama supporters believe that the idea of joint apprearences between McCain and Senator Obama must happen with honor and respect.  Senator McCain must treat Senator Obama as US Senators are treated by each other.  Secondly, Senator McCain surely wants to be in front of the thousands of people who show up to see Senator Obama.  If Senator McCain wants a 'free ride' he must he should begin the conversation with 'honor and respect.
Jindal has been a governor for about 6 months, and this is who the RNC is looking at?  One heart beat from a presidency of a very old, sick, senile man.  The repubs call Obama inexperienced?  This is rich!  Jindal makes Obama look like a geezer.  He makes McCain look embalmed!
I dare him to pick "Bobby" as his VP, absolutely dare him!!!!!  Here's some info:


Real Name:  Piyush Jindal

Born:  a Hindu in India

Bush Appointee: In March 2001, he was nominated by President George W. Bush to be Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for Planning and Evaluation.

While at Oxford:  He wrote an article for the New Oxford Review in which he described witnessing a friend seemingly being possessed by a demon. In
that article, Jindal wrote of being unsure about what he had witnessed: "Did I witness spiritual warfare? I do not have the answers...."

Roe V. Wade:  100% pro-life voting record

Religion:  supports the teaching of intelligent design in public schools

Miscellanious:  

- Jindal voted yes on making the PATRIOT Act permanent.
- Voted in favor of the 2006 Military Commissions Act
- Supported a constitutional amendment banning flag burning
- Supported the Real ID Act of 2005.
- Jindal has an A rating from Gun Owners of America.
- He is a member of the conservative Republican Study Committee.
- In 2006, Jindal voted with the Republican Caucus 97 percent of the time during the 109th Congress.
- Jindal supports co-payments in Medicaid.
- In 2006, Jindal sponsored the Deep Ocean Energy Resources Act (H.R. 4761), a bill to eliminate the moratorium on offshore oil and gas drilling over the
U.S. outer continental shelf, which prompted the watchdog group Republicans for Environmental Protection to issue him an environmental harm demerit.
- Jindal's 2006 rating from that organization was -4, among the lowest in Congress.
- The nonpartisan League of Conservation Voters also censured Jindal for securing passage of H.R. 4761 in the House of Representatives; the group rated his environmental performance that year at seven percent, citing anti-environment votes on 11 out of 12 critical issues. Jindal's lifetime score from the League of Conservation Voters is seven percent.
- Despite claims that Jindal's bill was successful, H.R. 4761 was replaced by S 3711 (known as the Domenici-Landrieu Fair Share Plan). The original
Senate version was passed by both houses of Congress and signed by President Bush.
- After Oxford, he joined McKinsey & Company, a consulting firm, where he advised Fortune 500 companies. Most notable was his work for Indian tycoon Lakshmi Mittal* of Arcelor Mittal.

* Lakshmi Mittal

- The 4rth Richest person in the world with a worth of $45 billion (US)

- Controversy erupted in 2002 as Plaid MP Adam Price exposed the link between UK prime minister Tony Blair and Mittal in the Mittal Affair, also known as 'Garbagegate' or Cash for Influence.  Mittal's LNM steel company, registered in the Dutch Antilles and maintaining less than 1% of its 100,000 plus workforce in the UK, sought Blair's aid in its bid to purchase Romania's state steel industry. The letter from Blair to the Romanian government, a copy of which Price was able to obtain, hinted that the privatisation of the firm and sale to Mittal might help smooth the way for Romania's entry into the
European Union.  The letter had a passage in it removed just prior to Blair's signing of it, describing Mittal as "a friend."

In exchange for Blair's support Mittal, already a Labour contributor, donated £125,000 more to Labour party funds a week after the 2001 UK General Elections, while as many as six-thousand Welsh steelworkers were laid off that same year, Price and others pointed out.

Employees of Mittal have accused him of "slave labour" conditions after multiple fatalities in his mines.

Lakshmi Mittal paid himself a bonus of GB£1.1bn in 2004 after a takeover of a US-based steelmaker.
"He has to put a woman on his ticket to grab Hillary's base.  It's the smartest thing he'll ever do..."--Adam Kontras

I heard that Hillary supporters would consider it an insult to their candidate if Barack picks another woman. I believe it was Andrea Mitchell who said that. So that may be counterproductive in getting Hillary's base.  
"The VP choice for Senator McCain is clear. Pick a woman. Here are the possible options:"
--Hillary Democrats for McCain

Interesting that you did not suggest Hillary.
-Sarah Palin of Alaska is the BEST choice. She's a woman - this will get many of Hillary's supporter. She's a governor, so this will bring the excutive-experience balance to the ticket. She's young (only 44) to balance McCain old image.
MccAin/Palin 2008
Hillary Democrats for McCain (Sent Wednesday, June 04, 2008 1:21 PM)

Good luck with that.  Too bad you are so narrow minded that you think woman will vote for any woman, just because she's a woman.

Palin is strongly pro-life and belongs to Feminists for Life.

She would draw very few of Hillary's supporters.  
Anyone who thinks Jindal will actually fix anything is fooling themselves. Jindal's ethics reform in Louisiana are just window dressing. He balked when the legislature wanted to increase transparency on the administration. He signed a bill into law that increased the burden of proof to convict on an ethics charge (making it harder to convict). He also accepted over $130K in bundled campaign donations from a local business owner. That owners business got a $14Million grant from the state. Louisiana under Jindal has a huge for sale sign on it.
The big difference between Jindal and Obama, Jindal is actually accomplishing something for his state!
When it's all said and done the repub ticket will be McCain/Nit Mitt.  They will steer the campaign to the economy where Romney has the expertise.  
I agree with all the previous posts.......McCain is having another senior moment and leaning toward a man representing every thing he has previously thought undesireable in a candidate.  If this guy is smart at all, he'll run like hell in the opposite direction to save his political career
It might seem like a good idea to have someone younger on the ticket for McCain, but this guy is far too young.  What has he done before being elected governor?  Obama was a law professor and community organizer.  Does this guy have ideas of his own?  Is he just an idealog?  Just because Rush Limbaugh says he's good, doesn't make him a good choice.  
town hall meetings : that s a good thing and Obama is going to jump on it.

how can Mc Cain expect to have the last word? all his speeches are old thinking.

what an opportunity for Obama to heat the crowd with new ideas

unless mc cain knows that every venue of Obama will get 15000 in the room, while he brings at best 100.

thus he does not want to media to rip him apart . thus by having group meetings, he will not have this problem.




that should be fun, mc cain mixing different iraqi ethnicities and proposing a 1 cent gas reduction for one month to relieve american consumers...
McCain & HRC 2008
If I was Jindal I would be honored to be chosen as VP, but I don't think I would accept.  The reason for is the next 12 years of Politics could play right into his hands.

1- McCain's age most likely prevents him from doing more than one term if he does win in November.  Meaning you would in 4 years almost be required to run for president as the VP and the experiece card would be even stronger than Obama's from the Dems.  But what he should do it wait out for 4 years and then be the VP.  If Obama wins this Nov. then in 4 years whoever is the REP nominee can pick Jindal as his running mate then.  If the Rep. win then in 2012, he will pretty much cement his status and be the next Presidential Nominee for the party, and if the Repulicans dont' win he would still be next in line.  So basically if he sits this one out, he would be at a minimum the VP running mate in 2012 and then after that would be the Next republican nominee and most likely have that extra experience and probably be the following president.

McCain 08
Jindal is young therefore a great VP? The only reason this is said is because JOHN MCCAIN is TOO OLD to be president. I'm63. No one I know tells me they actually personally know anyone who should be president at 70 an more. This is not a Bank President or President of any corporation. It is President of the USA. Do we have to watch another president (such as Ronald Reagan) slowly lose his memory in the latter part of his presidency? This is just plain foolishness. John McCain already has one significant other to help him look young and she doesn't help.
As long as he doesn't pick a woman... he'll lose. :)


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