Bobby-ing To The Surface

For weeks, Jindal has been the Belle of McCain's VP Ball. But the buzz has recently turned to boos in LA over Jindal's handling of a pay raise for state legislators. Over the weekend, a recall petition was filed and Jindal's leg. dir. abruptly resigned. Today's Times Picayune urges Jindal to "eat a can of spinach" and veto the pay raise.

-- Whether Jindal ultimately does so (he has until 7/8) seems beside the point. It's his handling of the issue that's at issue. In this kind of climate, shouldn't any elected official know that the words "pay raise" are usually the beginning of a very bad storyline? Just ask Rendell how the pay hike went over in PA in '06 (hint: badly).

-- All this VP speculation, as well as a willingness to stump for McCain, has propelled folks like Jindal and Crist into popular TV talking heads. But does it compromise their ability to do what they want at home? Every thing they do between now and 11/08 will be viewed through the "what's the real motive?" filter, making even the smallest dust-ups look like an int'l incident.

-- One thing is for sure, Jindal's honeymoon, in LA and as VP pick, is over.