The north doesn’t HATE the south, we just think you guys are a little, um, different.
Folks, here’s the skinny. Jindal is NOT a traditional Indian Catholic. As stated previously, he was a convert in college. While he’s spent much time in Catholic parts of Louisiana, he’s also spent the last four years in a JFK-like journey to make both his ethnicity and his religion seem not so strange to us salt of the earth simpletons up here in the north Louisiana. You see, Jindal would have won the election four years ago if it had not been for a hesitancy of traditional rural conservative voters here to cast their vote for him. As it was put in this campaign, he had to go out and win the “Bubba vote.” Jindal would show up at Baptist churches carrying a Bible-trying to show everyone he was one of the gang. I think it’s a testament to these folks that they DID eventually overlook the base differences to see that he was a champion of conservative ideas.
As for being in Bush’s pocket-he’s not. He threatened to cast one vote to override a Bush veto (the bill fell short so I don’t believe he bothered since he was campaigning) and he DID vote to override the water projects bill that was loaded with money for coastal erosion.
I halfway agree with brotherhrolf that Jindal won’t accomplish much without the legislature but I don’t think it’s wise to count him out so soon, either. Unlike our previous reform governors, Jindal has a decent slate of legislators who rode his coattails into office. Plus, Jindal is the first governor we’ve had in more than 20 years who is not someone connected to the old political machinery. I think, at the very least, he might do a much better job of administering the recovery.
Per the comments on Blanco vs. Bush in the hurricane, there was incompetency on both sides. Blanco’s administration was ill-prepared for the disaster, that’s for sure. Yet as a federal employee who was detailed into FEMA service during the disaster, I can tell you they sure didn’t have their act together, either.
