Is Bobby Jindal viable?

Steffen Schmidt

I follow almost every news story on election 2016. It is an amazing year and I get up at 4 a.m. every day so I can feed my horses and then get to work trolling the headlines. Iowa farm sunrises in the autumn are fabulous so being up early is a real treat.

Lately, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has caught my attention.

He is nowhere in the polls and has been part of the 'Happy Hour” debate group, the kids at the little table with the happy meals while the adults eat from the regular menu.

Now all of a sudden I see articles that say Jindal is rising in the polls in Iowa. I hear Iowa Christian political leaders say that Jindal is the guy with God on his side so to speak because the entire 'brand” of Jindal has been about religion. I see that the Des Moines register plans to 'interview” him in their boardroom. So there is this rising attempt to divert our attention to Jindal from Trump, Carson, Fiorina, Rubio, and Cruz who are floating happy at the top of the polls.

HOWEVER, if you research Jindal you will find some information that raises serious doubts about Jindal and I'd like to share those with you.

Headline: 'So Long Bobby Jindal? The Louisiana governor is running out of money, and his presidential campaign might be running out of time.”

More Headlines: 'Louisiana State Treasurer John N. Kennedy suggested that Gov. Bobby Jindal should return to Louisiana from his presidential campaigning in Iowa and make plans for budget adjustments now in order to avoid draconian cuts later in the budget year.” Louisiana is more broke than the federal government.

From the Times-Picayune: 'Eleven out of 15 GOP candidates raised more money than Jindal in the three-month period.” Money is smart. They know a losing investment when they see it.

So, is Jindal a viable candidate for 2016?

He may rise in the polls in Iowa where of 40 percent or so the GOP is very religious and very conservative his God-centered campaign may do well with them. However he is only at 6 percent in Iowa today.

The second state in line for presidential candidates is New Hampshire the second least religious state in the nation. In New Hampshire Jindal is at 0.0 percent in the latest RCP aggregate poll! He scored 0 percent in the Gravis, CNN/WMUS, and NBC/WSJ polls. How can anyone look at those numbers and say that Jindal is viable with a straight face!

Jindal is at 0.6 percent nationally which is a ridiculous number and he will be eliminated from the 'adult” debates unless he hits 2.5 percent nationally which is also ridiculously low.

At some point people need to face the political grim reaper and drop out. Jim Webb and Lincoln Chafee need to drop out. Pataki and James Stuart 'Jim” Gilmore III need to quit the race. The day is coming closer and closer when Jindal also needs to say goodbye and find some honest work.

Oh yes, the latest headline I saw reads, 'Gov. Bobby Jindal's 27 percent approval rating in Louisiana is sign of bipartisan dissatisfaction.” The article in 'Best of New Orleans” had this quote, 'Baton Rouge conservative writer and activist Scott McKay added, with characteristic bluntness, 'The mess Jindal has made of Louisiana's budget is going to destroy his political career.”

If Jindal rises in the polls his GOP opponents will use this information to put a bull's eye on him.

' Steffen Schmidt is University Professor of Political Science at Iowa State University and CEO of SEAS LLC consulting. Comments: Steffenschmidt2005@gmail.com