Lousiana Gov. Bobby Jindal made a stop in Birmingham, Ala. last week to address the city’s Rotary Club, the second largest club of its kind in the world.
Local business leaders packed into the The Harbert Center to hear the two-term governor and potential 2016 presidential contender riff on everything from his childhood to his experience overseeing the largest weather-related evacuation in American history.
Gov. @BobbyJindal speaking at today's Birmingham Rotary Club meeting pic.twitter.com/ope8ep5cKm
— Cliff Sims (@Cliff_Sims) December 11, 2013
Yellowhammer was on hand to hear his speech. We were also able to spend some time with Gov. Jindal interacting in a small group setting. Here are the five things we walked away with.
1. He’s running for president
Let’s just get this out of the way right off the bat because the rest of this list is at least somewhat predicated on it.
Jindal is running for president.
In a small meeting with key influentials after his Rotary speech, Jindal spoke openly about the possibility of a 2016 run, but was quick to point out that the focus right now should be on Republicans retaking the Senate in 2014.
To that end, Jindal said he has launched a conservative policy non-profit organization called “America Next.”
The group will “focus on ideas,” Jindal said. “This is bigger than any single election, whether it be 2014 or 2016. I want to make sure Republicans are winning the war of ideas and offering real alternatives to the ‘Obama experiment’ that Americans are rebelling against right now.”
Former Romney campaign manager Jill Beunaber and several long-time members of Jindal’s political operation are involved with the group’s operations.
Launching a 501(c)(4) has become a prelude to running for higher office. In Jindal’s case, that means the presidency.
2. He believes education reform is the top issue facing the United States
While most Republicans are laser-focused on ObamaCare and its negative effect on the economy and jobs, Jindal drilled down on education reform more than any other issue during his Birmingham speech.
"The most important issue facing our country and our state isn't college football, it's education reform." Gov. @BobbyJindal
— Yellowhammer (@YHPolitics) December 11, 2013
This is particularly interesting considering the fact that Jindal’s résumé is packed with healthcare-related college degrees and jobs.
He graduated at age 20 from Brown University’s Program in Liberal Medical Education. His political science masters degree from the University of Oxford has an emphasis in health policy and the subject of his thesis was “A needs-based approach to health care.”
Jindal was Secretary of Louisiana Health and Hospitals at the tender age of 24, overseeing a department that represented roughly 40 percent of the state’s budget with a staff of over 12,000. By age 30 he was Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the second-ranking healthcare post in the Bush Administration.
But it was clear during his Birmingham Rotary speech that education reform is the area Jindal is most passionate about.
"We have a responsibility to make sure every child has access to a quality education." Gov. @BobbyJindal
— Yellowhammer (@YHPolitics) December 11, 2013
"The most important thing we can do is put a great teacher in every classroom." Gov. @BobbyJindal
— Yellowhammer (@YHPolitics) December 11, 2013
"Why don't we promote teachers based on student achievement rather than how long they've been breathing?" Gov. @BobbyJindal
— Yellowhammer (@YHPolitics) December 11, 2013
"In New Orleans, 90% of kids are in charter schools. We've doubled the # of kids reading on grade level over the last 5 yrs" – @BobbyJindal
— Yellowhammer (@YHPolitics) December 11, 2013
Jindal’s push for education reform has been met with fierce opposition from Louisiana’s teachers’ union and the Obama Justice Department.
“When we embarked on this path of reform, we knew this would not be an easy fight because the coalition of the status quo is entrenched and has worked to hold Louisiana teachers and students back for decades,” Jindal said in a quote that could have been lifted from any number of Alabama legislators discussing the struggle for education reform here in our state.
"DOJ is in court trying to stop school choice. It's the most hypocritical, immoral thing I've ever seen from the fed govt" Gov. @BobbyJindal
— Yellowhammer (@YHPolitics) December 11, 2013
If and when Jindal runs for president, expect him to give former Florida governor Jeb Bush a run for the GOP’s education reform mantle.
3. His public speaking skills are underrated
Jindal’s first major turn on the national stage took place in 2009 when he was chosen to give the Republican response to President Obama’s State of the Union address.
It was a disaster.
A Fox News panel that came on right after Jindal’s nationally televised address described it as a “really poor performance,” “amateurish” and “almost childish.”
Jindal’s not a Reagan-level orator by any means. He’s not flashy, doesn’t have a particularly captivating stage presence and doesn’t deliver his personal story with as much conviction as we’d like to see. However, if what we saw on Wednesday in Birmingham is a “normal” Jindal speech, he’ll be fine.
He was especially interesting when speaking aspirationally about America’s future.
"I'm a complete optimist about our country, not because of our govt., but because of our people." – Gov. @BobbyJindal
— Yellowhammer (@YHPolitics) December 11, 2013
"The idea that the future is China's or that our best days are behind us is nonsense." – Gov. @BobbyJindal
— Yellowhammer (@YHPolitics) December 11, 2013
"Let's not be the first generation of Americans to mortgage our children's future." – Gov. @BobbyJindal
— Yellowhammer (@YHPolitics) December 11, 2013
Jindal hasn’t developed Reagan’s flare for delivering a line yet, but he seems to understand how infectious Reagan’s optimism was when he discussed the nation’s future.
4. We need a chief executive in the Oval
There are plenty of reasons we’ve only had three presidents elected directly from the Senate (Harding — 1920, JFK — 1960, Obama — 2008). The executive experience governors gain gives them an undeniable advantage, both in running a national campaign and in governing once in the White House. Serving as a governor is the closest thing to direct training for the presidency you can get.
Governors are constitutionally mandated to balance their state’s budget, so they better understand what it takes for the government to live within its means than do federal legislators. Unfortunately, we’ve had plenty of governors rise to the presidency and not give a second thought to balancing the budget once they got there.
But Jindal specifically called for a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution during his speech in Birmingham.
"We need a balanced budget amendment to force the federal government to live within its means." – Gov. @BobbyJindal
— Yellowhammer (@YHPolitics) December 11, 2013
One of the many criticisms of the Obama presidency is that while the government has expanded at an unprecedented rate on his watch, the president himself has shrunk. He looks small on the world stage. The president’s response to scandal after scandal involving executive branch agencies has consistently been, “I didn’t know that was going on.” He’s struggled to articulate his management style.
We’re dealing with a career activist, lecturer and legislator who’s never had to manage anything more than his household budget and family.
Meanwhile, America’s governors manage executive branch agencies, oversee disaster responses and recruit jobs from all over the world.
Executive experience is far from the only pre-requisite Republicans should be looking for in 2016 — it’s probably not even the top one — but it sure wouldn’t hurt.
5. He’s got to find a place to fit in
Based on the names being tossed around at this point, here’s an extremely oversimplified idea of what we could get in 2016:
Christie would be the establishment’s choice. Rand would be the “liberty candidate.” Huckabee and Santorum would battle it out for evangelicals. Cruz would be the smash-mouth Tea Party guy. Bush or Rubio would be selling their ability to bring new voters into the GOP fold. Ryan would be the guy who can make dysfunctional Washington, D.C. work. Walker would be the chief executive who walked through the fire and came out on the other side. Perry would be the “jobs governor” — or “oops guy,” depending on who you ask.
And Jindal would be… What, exactly?
After spending a little time with him Wednesday, he seems to be angling to be the “ideas guy.” With no Newt in the field, the title will be up for grabs.
That’s going to be Jindal’s challenge over the next year. He has to define himself — tell the American people who he is, what he stands for — and carve out some space for himself in what will no doubt be a crowded field.
Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims
Don’t miss out! Subscribe today to have Alabama’s leading headlines delivered to your inbox.