Bobby Jindal makes a prediction: He won't be the GOP veep pick
Has Bobby Jindal removed himself from vice presidential speculation?
That's how Fox News interpreted a comment from the Louisiana governor today. During an interview on "Fox & Friends," the 37-year-old Republican said, "I’m not going to be the vice presidential nominee or vice president."
That's not quite as sweeping and uncategorical as the "don't ask me, I won't take the job" statements that Democrats Ted Strickland, the governor of Ohio, and Jim Webb, the senator from Virginia, have issued.
Still, Jindal's comment is pretty blunt for someone who has been viewed as right at the top of John McCain's list of potential running mates.
McCain was scheduled to travel to New Orleans today for a sit-down with Jindal but, intriguingly, the meeting was canceled this afternoon. However, that may have had more to do with matters outside either man's control.
As The Ticket noted earlier, Hurricane Dolly already accomplished what no amount of carping from McCain could -- cut into the intensive coverage of Barack Obama's overseas sojourn. But storms play no favorites, and McCain has been directly affected by it.
Thursday morning, McCain planned to helicopter to an oil rig along the Gulf Coast to reiterate his recent call for an end to the federal moratorium on offshore oil drilling, a speech partially designed to try to steal some thunder from Obama's scheduled address in Germany. But citing concerns about the turbulence in the Gulf region caused by Dolly, the event got scotched along with the Jindal chat.
McCain instead will travel to Columbus, Ohio, to join famed bicyclist and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong for a town hall meeting devoted to discussing the disease and the efforts to fight it. McCain has suffered from skin cancer, including a serious case in 2000.
-- Don Frederick
Photo credit: Getty Images
Andrew Malcolm's immigrant parents repeatedly stressed the importance of active participation in a democracy. Early lessons included learning the alphabetical list of states by watching televised roll calls of national political conventions. That childhood exposure led to a lifelong fascination with politics, including 40-plus years of covering them and a brief stint practicing them as press secretary to Laura Bush in 1999-2000. A veteran foreign and national correspondent, Malcolm served on the Times Editorial Board and was a Pulitzer finalist in 2004. He is the author of 10 nonfiction books and father of four.
Johanna Neuman is a veteran Washington correspondent for both The Los Angeles Times and USA Today, having covered presidents and politics as far back as Ronald Reagan. A former president of the White House Correspondents Assn., she authored a book on media and foreign policy, “Lights, Camera, Wars.” Most recently she was co-author of the 
Subscribe to this Blog
Whomever gets picked is a sacrificial lamb. The smart ones know that. It really doesn't matter who McCain picks, assuming he is still the nominee by convention time
Posted by: Ericmiami | July 23, 2008 at 04:41 PM
Blame the storm, but there was a fuel spill in New Orleans that closed 29 miles of the Mississippi and who wants to go to New Orleans to catch a flight to an oil rig with an fuel spill in between? Here's an article on the spill via FOX News
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,389307,00.html
Though blaming a hurricane does give McCain some cover.
Posted by: gerald | July 23, 2008 at 04:50 PM
At least Governor Jindal was born in the USA. Perhaps he's leaving his run until later ?
Posted by: Joe | July 23, 2008 at 05:07 PM
'Joe' said:
"At least Governor Jindal was born in the USA."
Exactly what is the intention of that comment? Is 'Joe' asserting that Obama wasn't born in the USA? He was born in Hawaii, which has been a state since I was in college and, brother, that was a LONG time ago.
Interestingly, McCain was born at Coco Solo Naval Air Station in the Panama Canal Zone. Does that mean he was born in the U.S.? If so, what makes the Canal Zone more "the USA" than a real state, namely Hawaii?
'Joe', we can read between the lines. We KNOW what you're trying to say.
Posted by: Joe
Posted by: shawdog | July 23, 2008 at 05:46 PM
Like what I see about this Jindal guy. Can we please have him as president?
Posted by: me | July 24, 2008 at 02:09 AM
Joe: I think the other Joe could just as well have been referring to McCain being born in Panama rather than Obama.
If the first Joe is an Obama supporter, this is just an (albiet unjustified) dig at McCain. If he is a Republican perhaps he is simply expressing a desire for a younger, more vibrant candidate. But I see no reason to think it was a dig at Obama.
Posted by: Zack | July 24, 2008 at 02:50 AM
so both candidates stubbornly preferred by the 'establishment' for whatever reasons, are either not born in the usa (mccain, born in the panama canal zone, 100-year lease) or do not qualify for other reasons (obama unable/unwilling to provide either required evidence by a valid birth certificate, or of his mother's permanent 10 year residence in hawaii, 5yrs thereof prior to date of his birth.) what is more unsettling than that is the obvious mockery involved, as it would be fairly easy to produce any number of fake biographies or documents for them you probably never could tell apart from real ones.
so it's an assumptive demonstration of sheer power, disdain for the constitution, and derision of the people's intelligence. especially as both 'preferred' candidates are openly boasting their character a paragon of corruption, with ample evidence to prove it. but what do you think joe was talking about between his lines?
Posted by: dave | July 24, 2008 at 03:56 AM