His first was about Ron Paul:

Still, the presidential race is eons in the distance, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a wide-open contest at the start. That is good news for libertarian Ron Paul, who, startlingly, finished just one vote behind Romney. His organizers are the most intense of all.

This may well be great news.  If Paul and former NM Governor Gary Johnson can make the deal and run together as a libertarian ticket, they may have a force to reckon with. 

Fineman’s OTHER observation concerns my other political hero:  Bobby Jindal.

Other than former Oklahoma congressman J. C. Watts and RNC Chairman Michael Steele, who spoke to the gathering, I don’t think I saw a single African-American at the event. I’m not sure I saw a Latino or Asian person there, either—except for Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. I shouldn’t have expected anything else, of course: “Southern, white, Republican, conservative” is a quadruple redundancy. They have as much right to hold a meeting as any other group. But I couldn’t escape the feeling that, as amped up and potent as this crowd felt inside the ballroom, there is another, larger world—and another generation—rising elsewhere.

See what I mean about tone?  I would think there were many African-American, Latino and Asian attendees at the SRLC.  If you were one, write to Fineman.  But Fineman makes a point that if someone like Romney were to be nominated, he may well seek out Jindal and persuade him to be his running mate for demographic reasons.   There are better reasons.  I think the nation might be in for a surprise.

The title is the nod to the extremely worldly (but alas extremely popular) movie, “Revenge of the Nerds”, but this may be the year of the nerd, dork, wonk, etc.  A friend advised me that DC is “Hollywood for ugly people” (a nod to yet another movie:  Because Washington is Hollywood for Ugly People) but regardless, The thing that Jindal, Ryan and Daniels bring to the table is an intense intellectual curiosity and a desire to solve problems. 

Cong. Ryan has a plan to get the nation out of debt and protect Medicare and Social Security.  Shawn Tully at Fortune has a useful synopsis of the plan and the man.  It’s not without some loss of benefits but that is part of the necessary sacrifice.  He wants to reform the tax system to have a choice – the regular tax return or a simplified tax return at either 10 or 25% with no deductions.  Even the CBO admits the Ryan plan will work.  But, Speaker Pelosi criticized it (Yes, that’s may be best evidence Ryan’s on the right track) as hurting the elderly:

Obama noted that Ryan had “made a serious proposal” to rein in the deficit and then praised him for at least addressing entitlement spending. Following those apparently peaceful words, Democrats launched a withering assault over the next three days as budget director Peter Orszag, Democratic Congressional Campaign chairman Chris Van Hollen, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi all pummeled Ryan for threatening the safety net for the elderly and providing tax breaks for the rich.

Ryan elected to take on the President at the Health Care Summit:

Ryan got his chance to confront the President at the health-care summit Feb. 25. Seated across from Obama, Ryan addressed him directly with a six-minute, numbers-laden, wonkish analysis of the Senate bill that contradicted the administration’s pledge that the plan wouldn’t add to the mountainous deficit.

Ryan correctly stated that the bill projects that Medicare will lower reimbursements to doctors by $371 billion over the next 10 years, yet Congress would cancel those cuts in a separate bill, all part of an attempt to mask the true size of future deficits through “gimmicks and smoke and mirrors.” Obama steered the discussion away from Ryan’s numbers, and the White House hasn’t challenged his analysis.

The nerdy fun seems to be spreading to candidates.  Rick Snyder is a GOP candidate for Governor of Michigan.  His “One Tough Nerd” ad drew chuckles but also increased his polling numbers from less than 1 percent to 12 percent.  RCP explains this in the nerds article:

Snyder has gone from political zero (polling at 3 percent) to a potential-nerd hero. The ad is one big reason. And this story gets nerdier.

The Michigan firm EPIC-MRA recently polled likely primary voters. Only the contenders’ names were first read. Snyder placed third among the GOP candidates, at 12 percent. Then pollsters read candidates brief biography. The Gateway geek rose 10 points and took second place. Among “strong Republicans,” Snyder’s biography moved him from third to first place.

Here’s the ad.  Judge for yourself.  I like Snyder (I also like Michigan, too) and think maybe the issue is we need competence not flashiness.

“On Solid Ground: Returning to America’s Core Values,” to be written by Jindal and Hoover Institution research fellow Peter Schweizer, is scheduled for release on July 12 but can be pre-ordered through a variety of book outlets such as Amazon.com, Borders.com, Booktopia.com and Booksamillion.com.

This book should highlight the accomplishments of Jindal.  It might do more:

“In his new book, Jindal tells his own inspiring story and reveals his plan for putting conservatives and America back on solid ground,” the promotional capsule states. “From health care and national debt to how we can fundamentally transform Washington, Jindal tackles controversial issues and offers fresh solutions. … ‘On Solid Ground’ provides the leadership voice Republicans seek and the guidance America needs.”

Mark Ambinder of Atlantic Magazine (cited by NOLA) speculatesthat Jindal may be interested in the White House.  Ambinder asserts that Jindal was a frontrunner until the imfamous speech of 2009 (I think Jindal was badly advised as to the delivery and audience; compared it with Governor Bob McDonnell’s speech this year) but he is still a respected policy voice:

Since his national political star rose, and fell, Jindal has been considered a policy whiz in the GOP, rising through Louisiana’s state government at an impressively young age. Writing a book seems to be the mark of presidential ambitions–Romney, Palin, and Mike Huckabee have all published and toured to promote books in the last year–and it will be interesting to see just how much policy is included in this book, and whether or not his publicity rollout constitutes an aggressive move back onto the national political scene.

My admiration for Jindal is based on a combination of immense accomplishments and social conservatism packaged in a diversity-friendly package.  He is also an evangelical who is not shy
about his faith.  I will always be conflicted about Jindal versus Paul. 

But the CPAC straw poll is out and there are two surprises:  In a solid second place, just six points behind former Governor Mitt Romney is Bobby Jindal.  That’s right.  Governor Jindal had 14 percent.  This is more surprising when you consider that Romney is unofficially campaigning for President and Jindal has disavowed any interest in the White House. 

The other surprise is that Cong. Ron Paul came in fourth, right behind former Gov. Sarah Palin.  He had 13% of the straw poll votes.  This shows that Paul has made inroads into the conservative activists who frequent CPAC and related events. 

Next year’s straw poll will be critical:  I have indicated my interest in being a credentialed blogger for CPAC and if selected, I’ll live blog from there.  Can I cast half a vote for Jindal and half for Paul?  In the meantime, read my friend Tom White’s blog!

Some highlights:

Some political observers said Jindal is succeeding in improving the state’s image and promoting economic development.

Jindal said his greatest accomplishment in office is that Louisiana’s economy is performing better than most of the rest of the country. He said that is because of his economic development policies.

The state Legislature made significant cuts in taxes, which Jindal eventually backed after his aides initially opposed the move.

Jindal has helped lead the state in poor economic times:

He [Jindal] said Louisiana’s economy is outperforming the nation and the South during the recession.

 His ethics reforms drew support even from at least one Democratic lawmaker:

Jindal began his term by calling legislators into a special session to change the state’s ethics laws.

Those changes were problematic.

Ethics Board members resigned, shutting down the board for months.

However, many believe that Jindal strengthened the state’s ethics laws and improved Louisiana’s image.

State Sen. John Alario, D-Westwego, gives the governor an “A plus” for the ethics legislation, calling the changes a giant step.

Alario also credits the governor for not sitting at his desk 24 hours a day.

The governor often is on the road, whether to meet with residents or to raise campaign funds.

“I think it’s good that he does mix with people across the country,” Alario said.

Another more prominent Democrat, James Carville, adviser to former President Bill Clinton, praises Jindal and predicts he’ll run for President in the future:

“I would be surprised if at some point in his life Bobby Jindal doesn’t not run for president,” Carville said.

He said Jindal should not fret about the state’s budget crisis negatively impacting his future aspirations.

He noted that the recession is having a widespread effect.

“Every governor’s having budget problems,” Carville said. “Who’s not?”

This is one of the few times I agree with James Carvile!  It may not happen in 2012: 

Jindal said he intends to serve two full terms, dismissing speculation that he will win re-election and resign for a national office.

But we cannot yet rule out the VP nod for 2012.  It seems to me that if a nominee says to the Governor that he’s the best choice for party and country, it would be difficult for Governor Jindal (or anyone else) to say no without a compelling reason (some skeleton that Jindal does not have in his closet) to do so.

PS:  I recommend the chart for your reading.

The Times-Picayune reports that Jindal and two of his cabinet officials (The Secretary of the Department of Human Resources and the Secretary of Louisiana Economic Development) have filed comments opposing the EPA finding. 

A highlight from the T-P article:

In his letter, Jindal said the proposed rules “will have a dramatic, chilling effect on the refining and production capability of our state” and that cost of increased regulation will reduce the chances that companies will create jobs. Jindal said the EPA’s proposed rule could force manufacturers to move operations overseas, harming the national economy, and might ultimately harm the environment if those destinations have less stringent environmental regulations.

I am pleased to see this sort of stand.  This is good news.

3. Bobby Jindal: Yes, he had a bad response to Obama’s State of the Union, but the Rhodes Scholar is just 38 years old. Chalk it up as a MINOR setback for his national ambitions. He has a reputation for being a good executive, has lots of money in the bank, and represents something that’s currently lacking in the Republican Party — diversity.

This is a very balanced view of Jindal, including the so-called disastrous speech.  I thank also GOP 12 for this lead.

LOUISIANA IS ON the right fiscal track, according to an independent, non-partisan foundation that lobbies for good, small government in New Mexico. In a commentary for the Sun-News newspaper in Las Cruces, Paul J. Gessing, president of the Rio Grande Foundation, urged Gov. Bill Richardson to stay away from tax increases. Instead, he writes, go after “the bloated government workforce” and similar expenses. “Ironically,” he writes, “the state leading the way in these reforms is another state that has a long history of political corruption, Louisiana. Rather than simply raising taxes on struggling families, Pelican State policymakers, led by Gov. Bobby Jindal, have embarked on a wide-ranging set of government reforms designed to reduce the size and cost of government.”
WE THINK: Thanks for the optimistic assessment, Mr. Gessing, and for suggesting that Louisiana is “blazing a trail out of the budgetary wilderness.” We’ll let you know where we end up.

Here is the Post’s analysis on Jindal:

If Barbour and Daniels form the ranks of old pros, there are young pros rising within the ranks. The youngest is Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who has been on a fast track all his adult life. He had a terrible introduction to the nation this year when he was picked to give the GOP response to Obama’s first speech as president to a joint session of Congress.

But appearances can be deceiving. Jindal has a considerable intellect and a command of many of the policy issues that will be front and center in the next few years, including health care and energy. Whether he can prove himself on a national stage still isn’t known, but he could give Republicans fresh ideas and a platform from which to test them.

Although the Speech was mentioned (Boo!), it was admitted that Gov. Jindal is smart and has some experience/training in hot-button political issues such as health care and energy.  I think Jindal’s personal energy and accomplishments in Louisiana will help him. 

Another pro-Jindal item is his “fast-track” resume.  This is the main reason I am fascinated with Governor Jindal.  Remember that list of potential 2012 GOP Presidential candidates several months ago?  the one with the best resume (state cabinet official, university system president, federal sub-cabinet, Congress and governor) is the youngest one:  Bobby Jindal. 

Here is the article from Channel 9 WAFB.  A highlight:

“He and the president have gotten along well when they have encountered each other,” Engster said. “It was President Obama who said he was going to be a bi-partisan president. He’s (Jindal) a likeable person and someone I think the president is comfortable having in his presence.”

This is a video from the same station. 

Here’s the NOLA coverage.  

Here’s a great article from CNN International. 

No word on any special moments for the Governor.  Many prominent Indian-Americans were invited.