The Things With Feathers

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"Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops — at all

"And sweetest — in the Gale — is heard
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm

"I've heard it in the chillest land
And on the strangest Sea
Yet, never, in Extremity,
It asked a crumb — of Me."

Emily Dickinson

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I've had many thoughts as the enormity of what is happening in the Gulf of Mexico has become apparent.

Some of my thoughts are relevant, and, I suppose, others are tangential.

• One thought I have been having pertains to religious conversations I had with an acquaintance in college.
  
  Now, when it comes to matters of faith, I suppose I'm like a lot of people. There are some things that I believe, and there are other things of which I'm not so sure. And that, I suppose, is what keeps bringing me back to my church, even if I have been away for awhile — a desire to sort them out.
  
  At this stage of my life, there are many things of which I am not certain. But when I was in college, I believed I knew most of the answers. I didn't, of course, but I thought I did.
  
  And this acquaintance was convinced that he, too, had all the answers — about God and the afterlife and the existence of hell and the certainty of the end times as described in the Book of Revelation. His answers weren't like mine, though, and he apparently decided it was his obligation to "save" me.
  
  Problem was, I didn't think I needed to be saved. The mean and vengeful God he kept describing sounded nothing like what my parents had always told me about God. So I defended my image of a loving and compassionate God. And he defended his image of fire and brimstone and eternal damnation. Neither of us budged an inch.
  
  Ultimately, I suppose, we decided to agree to disagree, and we went our separate ways. He probably thought I was a lost cause, doomed to hell, and maybe he was right.
  
  I know I'm not as convinced about some things now as I was then, but one thing that I still believe that I believed in my college days is that humans are obliged to be good stewards of this planet.
  
  We are so obliged because, of all the creatures on earth, we are the smart ones. Every other creature on this planet does things to satisfy its needs without giving any thought to the consequences to others. But only man's activities can completely alter an ecosystem.
  
  And man knows it.
  
  We aren't necessarily superior. But it is humans' ability to think and to reason that sets them apart from all the other creatures."[W]hy did God plague us with the power to think?" asked Henry Drummond in "Inherit the Wind." "What other merit have we? The elephant is larger, the horse is swifter and stronger, the butterfly is more beautiful, the mosquito is more prolific, even the simple sponge is more durable. Or does a sponge think?"
  
  Like Matthew Harrison Brady, I do not know if a sponge thinks. I doubt it. But, if it does, its reasoning cannot possibly be worse than the reasoning of those who found ways to cut corners — and allow man's lust for oil to jeopardize the Gulf of Mexico and all the wildlife who live in and around it.
  
  If there is a hell, surely there is a place in it that is being held for those who allowed this catastrophe to occur.


• I also have been thinking of times I spent on the Gulf coast. I was thinking of one year in particular — which year it was escapes me at the moment, but I'm guessing that I was about 14 or 15 at the time — when our family went to South Padre Island for Christmas, then drove north by northeast until we got to New Orleans and went to the Sugar Bowl.
  
  In those days, my family had one of those tent trailers, and we often slept in it when we went on trips, but, for some reason, as we made our way along the Louisiana coast, we stayed overnight in a very basic travel lodge. The rooms weren't very fancy, but they were roomy enough for a family of four, and they had their own stoves so we could cook our meals there.
  
  I can remember the seawater smell of the harbor that was a short walk from the place where we stayed, and I can remember tasting that smell in the fresh (and dirt cheap) shrimp we bought from the local fishermen. I always loved my mother's cooking — but what she was able to do with that fresh shrimp, some rice and some canned vegetables (plus a few well–chosen spices) simply defied belief.
  
  And I wonder what this oil spill is going to mean to fresh Gulf seafood.
  
  Will future generations be able to enjoy the pleasure of fresh Gulf shrimp?


• Several years later, I went on a trip with my mother to Biloxi, Miss. She loved to jump the waves in the ocean — no matter how old she got, she became almost childlike when she was near the sea — and for some reason the two of us decided to go to Biloxi one summer. I was living in Arkansas, and Mom was living in Texas. We saw each other so rarely that I guess we just decided to take a little trip together.
  
  So we got a motel room on the beach and spent a few days breathing the Gulf air and jumping the waves. At night, we dined on fresh seafood and gazed at the water. From time to time, we saw birds that had been perched on the roof take flight over the water.
  
  It was a memorable trip, a memory that I will always cherish. But I wonder how many such memories will be made in the coming years if the oil slick turns out to be only as bad as — and not worse than — the experts predict.


• Then, a couple of years later, when I was working on the copy desk for a daily newspaper, we began to get word of an oil tanker that had hit a reef in Alaska and spilled a quarter of a million barrels of crude oil into the water.
  
  I am speaking, of course, of the Exxon Valdez disaster. That happened more than 20 years ago. You don't hear much about it anymore, but they are still struggling to clean up the mess.
  
  Granted, it is pretty remote — and relatively confined — but it is not terribly comforting to know that it is far easier to access the Gulf of Mexico than Prince William Sound — nor is it reassuring to think of how vast is the Gulf's area by comparison.
  
  In fact, if the worst–case scenario that I have heard (so far) is correct, the spill in the Gulf exceeded the volume that was spilled into the waters of Prince William Sound sometime on the third day — and crude has been gushing into the Gulf for more than a month now with no indication that man has found a solution.

I know that Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal was panned — and deservedly so — for delivering an, at best, tepid and, at worst, vapid response to Barack Obama's address on the financial crisis in February 2009.

But I have to give the man credit for taking the lead for his state, which is still recovering from the damage left by Hurricane Katrina nearly five years ago.

"We've been frustrated with the disjointed effort to date that has too often meant too little, too late for the oil hitting our coast," Jindal said.

Well, somebody has to stand up for Louisiana. And that's what citizens elect governors for, isn't it?

I guess it's also what presidents are elected to do. But, as Bob Herbert observes in the New York Times, "after more than a month of BP's demonstrated incompetence, the administration continues to dither."

I know there are budget problems out the hoo–ha today. But the oil spill in the Gulf calls for bold leadership now, not dithering. The cost should not be a factor. Nor should anything else other than stopping the flow of oil into the Gulf and devoting all available resources to cleaning up the oil that has been spilled there so far.

And whatever needs be done to rescue the wildlife of the region must be done. The creatures of the Gulf of Mexico are the innocent victims of human greed. No one would mistake me for an environmental activist, but BP must pay a heavy price for what it has done, and the federal government must shoulder the responsibility for repairing the damage.

Blame can be assigned later. The wildlife — and the livelihoods — of the Gulf need to be rescued now.

Sacrifice isn't the sort of thing politicians — especially politicians who belong to the party that is at risk in the upcoming election — want to talk about with their constituents.

But they must be candid with the American people — and they must be insistent about finding answers — whether or not this turns out to be an unusually active hurricane season.

To live up to the lofty promises of hope and change, Obama must be a true agent of change at a time when it is particularly challenging. Obama promised hope and change, but, with health care reform not kicking in for another four years and until unemployment starts making noticeable movement in the right direction, the average voter can look around and say things aren't noticeably better than they were the last time they went to the polls.

By law, a president is elected to a four–year term. But the actual "windows" for tangible achievements are two years and four years. The four–year window is for the president himself, but the two–year window — leading up to the aptly named midterms (because of the resemblance to mid–semester exams in college) — is an assessment time frame with which Obama has no experience, although it will produce the congressional lineup that will affect the president's next two years in office.

Bill Clinton understands it, though. Until the mid–1980s, Arkansas elected its governor every two years, and Clinton understood the psychology that is necessary to be successful in an office that was on the ballot every other year. It didn't help him prevent the tsunami of 1994, but I think he had regained his balance by 1998.

Anyway, I believe most House members (and any governors who live in states that still choose their governor every two years — if there are any) would tell you that the campaign never really ends. Neither do the expectations.

"Hope" made a nice campaign slogan in 2008.

Now, the folks who rode that slogan to victory need to realize that, in the words of Emily Dickinson, hope is the things with feathers.

Jindal in the Light of Day

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Words failed Rachel Maddow after Jindal gave his rebuttal.

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Upon reviewing the reactions to Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's Republican response to Barack Obama's address to a joint session of Congress last night, it seems that many bloggers and columnists share my assessment — even if my opinion was immediate and may not have allowed time for sufficient reflection.

I don't know if Obama's speech was a "home run," as Black Political Thought wrote. Nor would I go to the extent of labeling Jindal's remarks either "choppy" or a "disgrace" — although his delivery did leave a lot to be desired.

At best, though, I would agree with Frank James, of the conservative Chicago Tribune, who observed that the speech had its "jarring moments" — in particular the reference to Hurricane Katrina.

I'm sure Katrina has special relevance for people in Louisiana — but it reminds the rest of us of one of the lowest moments of the Bush presidency. Thus, even if Jindal had a worthwhile point to make — and I'm not sure he did — mentioning Hurricane Katrina is not the best sales pitch for Republican-style leadership during a crisis.

Katrina certainly wasn't funny. But Jason Linkins, at Huffington Post, found something funny to say about Jindal's speech. He saw an "uncanny" resemblance between Jindal and Kenneth the page from NBC's comedy, "30 Rock" — which may be appropriate, since Tina Fey, who skewered Sarah Palin so well on "Saturday Night Live" last fall, is the creator, executive producer and star of the show.

Linkins didn't write much. He let two video clips, one of Jindal and one of the Kenneth character, do his talking for him — and pretty eloquently, too, I might add.

Sam Stein reported for Huffington Post that pundits on both ends of the political spectrum criticized the speech. The verdict, Stein wrote, was that Jindal "came up short" on the "three hurdles" he had to clear in what was, admittedly, a "thankless" assignment — responding to Obama's speech.

Those hurdles, Stein said, were

• "to show that he could handle the national spotlight,


• "[to] present himself as a fresh face of the Republican Party, and


• "[to] stand up to the current president oratorically."

Responses from both sides, Stein wrote, were "decidedly harsh: 'amateurish,' 'laughable' and, most commonly, 'a missed opportunity.' "

Andy Barr of Politico.com reported that Jindal was "panned" by a variety of observers, including NPR's Juan Williams, Fortune magazine's Nina Easton and conservative RedState blog's Erick Erickson (who found fault with Jindal's delivery more than his message).

Perhaps more significantly, Barr wrote that the reaction from University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato (whose accuracy in predicting the 2008 election was almost 100% on target) was that "it's difficult to imagine him now as Obama's 2012 opponent" — a role for which many Republicans clearly were hoping he would be mentioned after his national debut last night.

But, as Sabato observed, Jindal still needs "a lot more seasoning" before he'll be ready for that role.

And John J. Pitney Jr., a political science professor at California's Claremont McKenna College, may have had the best assessment of Jindal — "[H]e has a lot of time to improve his delivery. In the year 2040 he will still be younger than McCain was in 2008."

Still, Obama's speech was not without its drawbacks as well.

It is true that the crisis facing the country was not of his making, that he inherited it from his predecessor, and it doesn't hurt to remind people of that fact at this point.

But Obama has now been president for more than a month. It is his mess to deal with now. The American people waited patiently through the months of transition (and simultaneous inaction by the lame duck president) while hundreds of thousands more jobs were lost. With the new president now in charge, the expectations are high.

As both Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton discovered in their first years in office, even a supportive public can soon turn on a president who doesn't deliver quickly. And regaining the lost momentum can be awkward and time consuming.

Jindal's Speech

Tonight, I have been watching Barack Obama's speech and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's Republican rebuttal.

It has only been a short time since Jindal gave his response, and I haven't had much time to digest what he said. So my words may seem a bit off the cuff.

But my initial reaction is that he had little to offer in the way of an alternative. The nation faces the most severe crisis of my lifetime, and Republicans, who have now been rejected by the voters in the last two elections, cannot win the trust of the American people by simply saying "No!" to Democratic proposals.

And that, it seems to me, is what Jindal did tonight.

I will admit that Jindal is a talented young man who has a bright future in his party. And he was right to observe that all Americans, Republicans as well as Democrats, take pride in the progress America has made by electing its first black president.

But, while that president was making his case for the government's expanded role in the nation's efforts to recover from the financial crisis, Jindal's position, essentially, was that the Republicans have deviated from the Goldwater/Reagan path that brought so much electoral success in the last three decades.

He ignored the fact that the conservative philosophy has been largely discredited, that deregulation and tax cuts have failed to produce the desired effects. Americans today are angry — and justifiably so — at the big bankers and Wall Street — and unregulated companies that played fast and loose with public health in the preparation of food products while greedily pursuing profits — and they have little tolerance for those who promote the policies that got us into this mess.

He doesn't believe government should get involved as much as it is with the stimulus package. Well, if that's what he believes, that's fine. But what is his alternative? The times call for bold action, but all that Jindal offers is more of the same.

It's fine for Jindal to assert that America will overcome this crisis. Obama did the same thing. And such an assertion is necessary for Americans who have lost their jobs and/or their homes to regain their confidence. But more is needed. Obama provided that in his speech. Jindal did not.

Tonight was not Governor No's finest hour. And it underscores why the country opted to take a new direction last November.

McCain's Running Mate Dilemma

The Wall Street Journal says Barack Obama has an easier assignment than John McCain has when it comes to picking a running mate.

And the Wall Street Journal is absolutely right.

"As a young, rookie candidate running on 'change,' Barack Obama can help himself by choosing a safe, seasoned politician like Evan Bayh or Joe Biden," observes the Journal.

"As the trailing candidate from an unpopular party, John McCain has the harder decision because there really is no obvious candidate."

The Journal proceeds to list all the names that get mentioned frequently in this conversation — and includes the reasons why those candidates would be a drag on the Republican ticket:

• Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush — "[W]rong last name."


• Florida Gov. Charlie Crist — "[T]oo-frequent political opportunism that would disappoint much of the party."


• Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee — Ditto.


• Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romeny — "[He] failed to catch fire in the primaries ... and ... his Mormonism seems to be an issue with many evangelicals." The Journal, for its part, finds fault with Romney because he "continues to defend his state health-care reform."


• Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman — "[H]e'd probably alienate too many social conservatives."

With some of the other names that have been mentioned, the Journal raises objections that aren't quite as severe — but it still raises objections:

• Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty — A conservative who is "as confused as Mr. McCain on global warming, but he seems to have more principles than Mr. Crist."


• Former Management and Budget director Rob Portman — "Some McCain advisers will say his Bush experience rules him out, but he has depth as a policy wonk."


• Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal — Has "potential and appeal" but lacks "stature" and would "give up Mr. McCain's clear experience edge over Mr. Obama."


• Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin — Ditto.


• Meg Whitman of eBay — "[The] magnitude of press scrutiny that any nominee must endure today is a lot to ask of someone who's never sought elective office."


• Fred Smith of FedEx — Ditto.


• South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford — He "did stumble recently during a CNN interview ... . Still, it was a minor misstep, and Mr. McCain could do worse."

The Journal admits to favoring former Sen. Fred Thompson, who "might make sense ... (for) promising to serve one term, clean up the mess, and go home. On the other hand, he might be better suited for Attorney General if Mr. McCain prevails."

When all is said and done, the Journal concedes, "If there were a miracle choice for Mr. McCain, that person would be obvious by now. There isn't, and an attempt to find one can easily backfire."

Jindal Says No to No. 2 Slot

Louisiana's young Indian-American Republican governor, Bobby Jindal, took himself out of the running for the running mate spot on John McCain's ticket today.

"I’ve got the job that I want," Jindal said, insisting that he will do everything he can to promote McCain to Louisiana's voters.

Jindal, reportedly, has been on McCain's "short list" for the vice presidency, but it's probably best that he won't be running. McCain has often criticized his Democratic opponent, Barack Obama, for being too young and inexperienced — but Obama is a decade older than Jindal, who was elected governor last fall.

Having Jindal on the ticket, even with his conservative credentials, could have undercut McCain's argument about Obama's youth and inexperience.

If Jindal had been nominated for — and then won — the vice presidency, he wouldn't have been our youngest vice president ever.

Close — but not quite.

Most inexperienced? Well, who's to say? I guess it would be fair to say that Jindal would have one of the thinnest résumés of an incoming vice president — although Obama doesn't exactly bring an extensive political résumé to the fall campaign, either.

Who are McCain's top prospects now?

Well, Dana Bash of CNN says "a Republican source ... tells CNN that [McCain] dropped a serious hint about Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty."

I'll say this much — with the Republican convention being held in Minnesota, naming the state's governor as running mate would produce a dramatic story.

And Mitt Romney continues to get talked about. Hillary Chabot writes, in the Boston Herald, that Romney is "near the top of a very short list."

At least, that's what one of Romney's confidantes apparently has told Chabot.

And Romney has made no secret of the fact that he'd like to be on the ticket.

But, as I've mentioned before — and, as just about everyone already seems to know — Romney and McCain don't like each other.

Dick Morris writes, in The Hill, that choosing Romney as his running mate would be a bad idea for McCain.

"Would he help McCain win fiscal conservatives?" Morris asks. "If Obama’s tax plans don’t accomplish that, one has to wonder about their sanity."

Morris apparently likes four other prospects — Condi Rice and Colin Powell ... "Or McCain could send a statement to Democrats and independents and become the first candidate since Abraham Lincoln to cross party lines and put a person from the opposite party on his ticket by selecting Joe Lieberman. ...

"Any of these three choices would make a 'wow' statement that would make voters see McCain in a new light."

Morris also likes former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as a "a slightly less radical" option.

"With almost nothing but his innate skill as a speaker and his warm, friendly personality, Huckabee was able to energize the evangelical base as nobody has since Pat Robertson," writes Morris.

"But, in the process, he challenged it to move on to new issues and embrace causes like global hunger as ardently as the right to life."

Observers Indulge in GOP's V.P. Guessing Game

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin would be "a decided asset" as John McCain's running mate, Nat Hentoff writes in the Rocky Mountain News.

Palin is "an independent Republican governor, a woman, a defender of life against the creeping culture of death and a fresh face in national politics, described in the Almanac of National Politics as 'an avid hunter and fisher with a killer smile who wears designer glasses and heels, and hair like modern sculpture.'"

Palin seems to bring a lot of things to the ticket that McCain lacks. She's younger than Obama, she's made decisions in her personal life that clearly show her commitment to the anti-abortion position, yet she has the reputation of a maverick, much like McCain.

Meanwhile, an even younger Republican governor is continuing to draw attention as a potential running mate.

Louisiana's Bobby Jindal is stirring Republican imaginations, reports Sasha Issenberg in the Boston Globe.

Jindal has been recommended, the Globe reports, by the likes of "Rush Limbaugh, Newt Gingrich, and the Washington Times."

Meanwhile, talk continues to swirl around the possibility of Hillary Clinton being chosen to be Barack Obama's running mate.

Donald Lambro writes, in the Washington Times, that choosing Clinton would be a mistake for Obama.

"A vice presidential candidate in most cases won't win the election for him," Lambro writes, "but the wrong nominee could ensure that he loses. Hillary would be that candidate."

Jindal's Stock is on the Way Up

Adam Nossiter of the New York Times says Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is emerging as a leading candidate to be John McCain's running mate.

While Jindal's record in office -- so far -- has been impressive, I think he still needs some seasoning, needs to add a few accomplishments to his resume, before thinking about being a national candidate. He's only in his 30s, about half McCain's age.

McCain needs youth on his ticket -- as well as someone who appeals to social conservatives. Jindal fits the bill on both counts.

And he's got (limited) executive experience. With two legislators running against each other for the presidency, if one has a running mate who has experience on the executive side, that candidate has an edge.

If Jindal had been governor for a few years rather than a few months, he might be perfect for McCain.

Actually, speculation is running rampant among Republicans these days, even though it's early June and observers don't expect McCain to announce his choice until early August.

Matthew Cooper suggests, in Portfolio.com, that former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina could be McCain's running mate. Cooper says discussions linking Fiorina to the GOP ticket are "talk she discourages but doesn't dismiss, even if the chances of it actually happening are probably far-fetched."

There also has been talk of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, but that's talk that has been drawing a decidedly mixed response.

Some bloggers have been giving Bloomberg a thumbs-down response. "No this would be a bad thing!! New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is a huge anti 2nd Amendment person and therefore anti-gun!! McCain should not choose him as a running mate and it worries me to see this!!" writes MaddMedic blog.

Bloomberg's politics appear to be middle of the road, so much so that he's even being mentioned as a possible running mate for Democrat Barack Obama.

And word is that California Evangelicals' survey of its membership finds McCain will suffer a substantial drop in support from followers of that organization if he picks a running mate who is not perceived as a conservative.

I guess the wildest suggestion I've seen is that Geraldine Ferraro, who ran with Walter Mondale against Ronald Reagan in 1984 and supported Hillary Clinton in this year's Democratic race, could be McCain's running mate.

On the Democratic side, I have hesitated to speculate on running mates until I was sure who would be the nominee. It's not certain yet, but it sure looks like Obama will be the party's standard-bearer.

I think Obama should pick someone with executive experience, someone who has been a governor or is currently a governor. Bill Richardson of New Mexico is a strong pick.

A governor also has the advantage of having won a statewide campaign, just as senators do.

Aside from Obama, there aren't many blacks holding offices that are elected on a statewide basis.

And the one I can think of -- the governor of New York -- was actually elected lieutenant governor and rose to become governor when the incumbent resigned.

So the experience of having won a statewide race -- even in a relatively small state like New Mexico -- will be valuable to a national ticket.

Other Democratic governors Obama could consider are Ohio's Ted Strickland, Oklahoma's Brad Henry, Pennsylvania's Ed Rendell.

(As for McCain, there are quite a few other Republican governors in the South if Jindal doesn't suit him.)

But I would counsel Obama against picking a woman governor, on the grounds that a black man and a woman on the ticket would be change that is too radical for most voters.

Some of the polls suggest that voters are willing to consider voting for a ticket like that. But people have been known to misrepresent the facts to pollsters.

That's too bad because there are some talented women in Democratic politics -- Gov. Janet Napolitano of Arizona, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, Sen. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas (can you imagine what Democrats could do with a Lincoln on the ticket?).

At some point, the Democrats will put another woman on the national ticket. It just shouldn't be this year.

Medved on McCain's Running Mate

Michael Medved, a conservative talk show host, has posted a "pros and cons" column on running mate prospects for John McCain at Townhall.

Medved apparently was inspired to compile his list after McCain invited three prospects -- Mitt Romney, Bobby Jindal and Charlie Crist -- to spend the Memorial Day weekend with him in Arizona.

"Each of the three visitors offers strengths and weaknesses to a potential ticket," writes Medved, "as do the other names under consideration for the Republican nomination for vice president of the United States."

The "bottom line," according to Medved, is that Jindal should be the choice.

"Jindal offers the GOP the best chance in many years for reshaping the party's tarnished, tired image without in any way abandoning timeless conservative principles," he concludes. "The very prospect of a vice president whose full legal name is Piyush Subhaschandra Amrit "Bobby" Jindal has a marvelously exotic, only-in-America feel to it."

I can't help thinking that, if a McCain-Jindal ticket won the election, Chief Justice John Roberts would spend some time rehearsing Jindal's name in the weeks before January 20 so he could pronounce it correctly during the inauguration ceremony.

However, "[i]f McCain for some reason misses this obvious choice, Mary Jodi Rell of Connecticut offers another ground-breaking possibility which Democrats will find tough to smear," Medved says.

Rell, as Medved points out, won the governor's office in a heavily Democratic state. "Her husband is a Navy pilot (like McCain), and she herself is a courageous breast cancer survivor," Medved observes.

And the worst thing he can say about her? "[S]he would be the first individual on a national ticket since Truman without a college degree."

But, as Medved acknowledges, "In today’s anti-elitist climate, that might actually be an advantage."

McCain's Memorial Day Weekend Guests

Sen. John McCain has been spending the Memorial Day weekend at his Arizona ranch -- with three potential running mates.

His guests for the weekend were Mitt Romney, Bobby Jindal and Charlie Crist.

All three have been mentioned as prospects for the vice presidency. I don't think any of them fit the bill.

And no clues were forthcoming from the gathering, which apparently wrapped up on Sunday.

"The McCain campaign was tight-lipped about the agenda for the weekend, which aides described as purely social," reports Michael Falcone in the New York Times.

• It isn't necessary for the candidates on the ticket to get along, but in McCain's case, I think it's pretty important.
  
  There have been rumblings in the media about problems the senator has with anger management. And it was pretty clear during the Republican campaign that he and Romney don't get along.
  
  So, although Romney has the economic credentials that McCain lacks -- as well as the ready support of many social conservatives who have been lukewarm to McCain's candidacy and ample financial backing -- I don't think he's right for the spot.
  
  I just can't see McCain and Romney forging a strong working relationship.
  
  
• Jindal provides the youth (he'll be 37 in about two weeks) to contrast with McCain's age (72 before the GOP convention).
  
  But the flip side to Jindal's youth is the absence of experience. Jindal was elected to two terms in the House of Representatives before being elected governor of Louisiana last year.
  
  He's off to a strong start in his efforts to reform the state's government -- but that's a long-term project.
  
  Jindal's been in office for, what, half an hour?
  
  He can afford to put any national ambitions he may have on the back burner until he has some solid accomplishments to add to his résumé.
  
  
• Crist (pictured above) is a contradictory sort.
  
  His support for McCain apparently helped the Arizona senator seal the deal in the Florida primary, which led to Rudy Giuliani's withdrawal from the race in late January.
  
  And we all learned how vital Florida's support can be during the recount in 2000.
  
  But, if McCain is going to give serious consideration to Crist as a running mate, he needs to clear the air of the persistent rumors about Crist's sexual orientation.
  
  As I understand it, there has been talk about Crist being gay for quite awhile.
  
  Talk that has been reported in journalistic circles.
  
  Sexual orientation may not work against Crist in state politics, but rumors that he is gay won't help McCain win over the social conservatives who have resisted him, even after clinching the nomination.

Here's a partial list of some of the sources of things that have been written on the subject of Crist's sexuality:


1. Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, March 2008.


2. Orlando Sentinel, February 2008.


3. Broward-Palm Beach New Times, October 2006.


4. Online Journal, October 2006.


5. Orlando Weekly, September 2006.


6. St. Petersburg Times, January 2005.

I've heard a number of intriguing possibilities brought up, and the three men who spent the weekend with McCain haven't been included on hot prospect lists very often.

The most frequently mentioned names that I've heard are people like Condoleezza Rice, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Joe Lieberman.

I think Rice is too intimately connected to the Bush administration's policies. Pawlenty has said he is committed to his work as governor. And, although Lieberman has been a strong supporter of McCain's presidential bid, the only issue on which the two men seem to share the same opinion is the war.

McCain doesn't need another "Me, too!" voice in support of the Iraq War.

Personally, I still think J.C. Watts is McCain's best choice -- for a number of reasons.

A 'Fresh Start' for Louisiana?

Bobby Jindal, a Republican member of the House, was elected governor of Louisiana Saturday. Jindal will be the nation's youngest governor and the first nonwhite since Reconstruction to hold the post in Louisiana.

Jindal is an Indian-American -- as in native of India.

Under Louisiana's open primary system, if none of the candidates received a majority of the vote, a runoff would have been necessary in November. But Jindal prevailed over 11 opponents with 53% of the vote and was elected outright to succeed Gov. Kathleen Blanco, who was criticized for the state's response to Hurricane Katrina two years ago and decided not to seek re-election.

Blanco defeated Jindal in the governor's race four years ago.

Despite beautiful weather on Saturday, voter turnout in the governor's race was down by 100,000, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune. That may be a lingering effect of Hurricane Katrina. About half of the decline in participation came in New Orleans, where more than 120,000 voted in the 2003 governor's race, but just under 76,000 people participated Saturday.

Jindal promised a "fresh start" in his speech to supporters Saturday night.

And Captain's Quarters thinks Jindal may be starting a long, successful political run that could extend beyond Louisiana's borders.

But the Louisiana governor's mansion seems to have been a magnet for corruption and abuse of power for decades.

It remains to be seen if Jindal can reverse that trend.