The only problem in our national media-dominated political culture, however, is that the federal candidates jump into a nation race with a heightened advantage.
Barack Obama and even John McCain did better than their more experienced gubernatorial peers in 2008 because of their frequent presence and presentation before the national media, daily on the floor of the US Senate as well as on Sunday morning talk shows based in Washington, DC.
Governors simply do not have the luxury of rushing to the camera while running their states. Aside from Chris Christie of New Jersey, a media phenomenon in and of himself as well as his proximity to New York media headquarters, governors do not get the media limelight they deserve.
To this day, I have sent out and tweeted pictures of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, and most people do not know who he is. Same goes for Bobby Jindal, despite the added distinction of his Indiana-American status in a deep Southern state.
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| Governor Bobby Jindal (R-Louisiana) |
For these reasons, and no fault of their own, they could not gain the necessary traction to jump into first-tier status for Election 2016.
Jindal was a class act throughout the campaign, and released the following eblast following his decision to suspend his campaign:
I cannot tell you what an honor it has been to run for President of the United States of America. My parents came to this country 45 years ago searching for freedom and a chance.
His life story truly embodied the American Dream: come to the United States with nothing, dream of becoming something, and do anything you want to in order to succeed.
When I was born, we lived in student housing at LSU, and never in their wildest dreams did they think their son would have the opportunity to serve as Governor of Louisiana or to run for President.
They raised me to believe Americans can do anything, and they were right, we can. But this is not my time, so I am suspending my campaign for President.
It takes real leadership to recognize the momentum is no longer behind you for a major office. He very likely ran out of money, since donors, small or large, need to place their bets on likely wins. Jindal just never got out of the margin of error in too many polls.
Going forward, I believe we have to be the party of growth and we can never stop being the party that believes in opportunity. We cannot settle for The Left’s view of envy and division. We have to be the party that says everyone in this country - no matter the circumstances of their birth or who their parents are – can succeed in America.
Unite our side and divide theirs: those two goals should guide every conservative candidate running for office
One of the things I will do is go back to work at the think tank I started a few years ago - where I will be outlining a blueprint for making this the American century.
We must show the way forward on growing our economy and winning the war against terror, and especially defeating radical Islam.
I realize that our country is off on the wrong track right now. Everyone knows that, but don’t forget, this is still the greatest country in the history of the world – and every single one of us should start every day by thanking God that we are fortunate enough to be US citizens.
Yes, indeed. Thanking God and respecting citizenship must be the hallmarks of the next President. Too bad it won't be Bobby Jindal.
Now is the time for all those Americans who still believe in freedom and American exceptionalism to stand up and defend it. The idea of America – the idea that my parents came here for almost a half a century ago - that idea is slipping away from us. Freedom is under assault from both outside our borders and from within. We must act now, we do not have a moment to spare.
Thank you, Bobby Jindal, for reminding all of us why America is Great, and why we need to fight to keep America great!
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