Bobby Jindal: Remember this name

This weekend Louisiana held their gubernatorial primary. They do things differently down there as they vote on a Saturday and have multiple candidates running against each other in the primary and then winnow the field down to the top two if nobody wins over 50 percent. Well this time Bobby Jindal, a Republican congressmen, won with 54 percent avoiding a run off election and becoming the next governor.

Jindal is a 36 year old Indian American who is incredibly bright and articulate. His election makes him the youngest governor in the country and the first minority to be governor of Louisiana since reconstruction. He has extensive expertise in health care as he ran Louisiana's Department of Community Health and later served as Assistant Secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington DC. Additionally, he has a strong understanding of higher education as a result of his tenure as President of the University of Louisiana System.

Just as impressive as his resume is his ability to win statewide where there are twice as many registered Democrats as Republicans. Granted the Democrat party has taken a beaten in recent years due to how poorly the current Governor responded to the Katrina crisis. Notably, Jindal was able to capitalize on this discontent and create a broad theme of good government to campaign on. This is the exact message that all Republicans should be using instead of the same tired conservative cliches. Instead of ideology, the voters this year want demonstrated competence. Jindal's campaign and background filled that desire.

The following is a great clip from an article in the AP that illustrates this point:

The governor-elect said he is not worried that in a state known for its brash and flashy politicians, he's seen as methodical and wonkish. "If I go down as one of the more boring but effective governors, I'll take that as a great compliment," he said at a news conference earlier Sunday. "Our people don't want to be amused by our politics anymore. We don't want to be entertained."

I guess you could say he is the antithesis of Barack Obama.

Here is my prediction: Jindal will perform very well as Governor. He will be a model for other Republicans across the country. I also suspect that he will be considered a top tier presidential candidate in 2016