Louisiana Governor Jindal again seeks political mileage from Gulf oil spill

LOUISIANA - Louisiana’s Indian origin Governor Bobby Jindal has once gain seized the political and national spotlight by demanding a “Big Government response” to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

The baby-faced 38-year-old has emerged as the most visible critic of the Obama-BP shotgun marriage that has thus far failed to cap the Deepwater Horizon well, accusing the president’s team of a sluggish, uncoordinated response to the disaster.

According to Politico, in the process, Jindal has managed to tick off the White House, annoy some Republicans who think he’s coming down too hard on Big Oil - and regain a bit of the political capital lost after delivering a widely panned GOP rebuttal to President Barack Obama’s first joint session speech to Congress in February 2009.

“He didn’t give the best speech of his life, but, hey, his political career is still on the rise,” said Roger Villere, a close ally of Jindal’s who chairs the state GOP.

Politico further quoted Villere, as saying that: “He’s got real leadership capabilities. He’s got a brain that’s unparalleled in Louisiana.”

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, however, told reporters Jindal shouldn’t be “wringing his hands” over the federal response in Louisiana.

“Frankly, there are an awful lot of people who said this could never happen who are now saying, wringing their hands and saying, ‘Oh, why aren’t you doing something?’” “Well, the fact is that for too long, frankly, we weren’t as vigorous in oversight in terms of what safety measures were being taken, installed and maintained by these oil companies,” he said.

Jindal last occupied the national stage to bemoan the evils of Big Government and positioned himself as a responsible Republican voice on health care - dismissing the House plan as “radical,” but urging Republicans not to abandon the process. (ANI)