Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal just made it official:
Today, Governor Bobby Jindal formed an exploratory committee to assist him in deciding whether to seek the Republican Party nomination for President.Speaking about the committee launch, Governor Jindal said:“For some time now, my wife Supriya and I have been thinking and praying about whether to run for the Presidency of our great nation. We’ll make a final decision in June, after the legislative session in Louisiana ends.“If I run, my candidacy will be based on the idea that the American people are ready to try a dramatically different direction. Not a course correction, but a dramatically different path.“President Obama has started to redefine the American Dream, turning it into the European Nightmare. Because of this, I believe our country is in serious trouble and that the hour is late for America. Economic collapse is much closer to the door than people realize, our culture is decaying at a rapid rate, and our standing in a dangerous world is at an all-time low.“However, the problems caused by 7 years of weak leadership and mistakes in the Obama administration can be corrected. But they won’t be fixed by just sending Republicans to Congress. It will only be fixed by a President who is willing to make hard decisions and who has the ideas to change our country’s future.“While other Republican leaders are talking about change, I’ve published detailed plans to repeal and replace Obamacare, rebuild America’s Defenses, make America energy independent, and reform Education for our nation’s children.“So today I’m announcing the launch of an exploratory committee, which will help me to decide whether to seek our party’s nomination.”The Exploratory Committee can be found at www.bobbyjindal.com.
If you want to get a sense of what Jindal did in is first term — and how he managed to scare off all serious competitors in his bid for reelection — check out my 2011 profile of him. Also, back in February his people gave the sense that they knew he was starting near the bottom in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and nationally, but they’re confident that once he gets his moment in the national spotlight, he’ll make the most of it.