Eyeing 2016 presidential run, Jindal calls for American spiritual renewal

CEDAR RAPIDS - Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal says doing well in Iowa's first-in-the-nation precinct caucuses will be 'critical” if he decides to seek the 2016 GOP presidential nomination.

Jindal, who said he will make a decision on a presidential bid 'in the next few months,” was back in Iowa this week for the sixth time since the 2012 presidential election. It wasn't to campaign, but to participate in The Response, a nationwide initiative to return America to the principles on which it was founded, with God at its center.

There is a 'critical and central role for faith in our public square,” he said.

'It's time we turn back to God,” he said. 'Throughout our country's history, we have been a country that has stood for these principles and to pretend otherwise does a disservice to our Founding Fathers' vision for the country.”

He believes elected leader should play a role in a spiritual revival 'and that's independent of whatever decision I make about running for higher office.”

Jindal also is calling for 'big change” in federal government.

The November election results tell him voters don't like what the left has done and is willing to give Republicans a chance to show they can govern, to show it is more than the party of 'no” or the anti-Obama party.

Everyone knows Republicans oppose Obamacare - 'and it should be replaced,” he said. The challenge for the GOP is to 'show people how we will replace it, how we will help people with pre-existing conditions, how we will help people in the individual insurance market.”

The same is true on education, energy and the spectrum of issues, Jindal said. For example, the GOP needs to do more than approve the Keystone pipeline, he said.

'We need to show the American people we have a comprehensive approach to energy,” Jindal said.

'The point is not to just oppose the president, but to show alternatives,” the second-term governor said. 'We've got to be specific. We've got to be bold. That's what it will take to show the American people we deserve to lead.”