Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal entertained a couple of hundred Republicans at the Republican National Committee Summer meeting with at the Marriot Waterside Hotel in Tampa today.
Jindal, who just turned 40 earlier this summer, has been considered a fresh new face for the national GOP when he became the governor in 2007 (He faces re-election later this year). He peppered his remarks with some homespun humor as the first part of his speech, which focused on what he said was an economic renaissance in Louisiana, saying his home state trails only Texas when it comes to economic success stories in the country.
He then made a reference to the growing sentiment that their governor, Rick Perry, will soon join the presidential field when he said, "We're certainly a lot smaller than Texas but we're sneaking up on you. Now, if Rick were suddenly to get distracted by something-" leading to laughs and applause from the RNC members.
This article appears in Aug 4-10, 2011.