Gov. Bobby Jindal’s memoir, Leadership and Crisis, will be released Nov. 15, but The Washington Post’s Stephen Lowman got an early copy of the book, which was originally set to be released in July under the title Real Hope, Real Change: New Conservative Solutions to Rescue America.
The title wasn’t the only change. The original cover (which may or may not have been finalized) featured a large American flag with a small inset photo of the guv, along with the co-byline of Peter Schweizer, who has written books about the Reagan and Bush presidential families. Schweizer’s name (and the flag) are absent from the cover of Leadership and Crisis, which features a photo of Jindal striding purposefully in a sport jacket and khakis, surrounded by a Louisiana state policeman and a member of the National Guard. It also features a front-cover blurb by Miss. Gov. Haley Barbour (“Anyone who thinks that the Republican Party doesn’t have new and innovative ideas has never met Bobby Jindal”). And, for those unfamiliar with the author, he is identified on the new cover as “Bobby Jindal, Governor of Louisiana.”
According to Lowman, the book includes the expected swipes at President Barack Obama and his administration for their handling of the BP oil disaster, as well as a chapter titled “Do We Really Want to Be Like Europe?” (Answer: no.) Of particular interest to Louisiana political watchers will be a section called “Men Behaving Badly,” which limns wayward politicos of both parties, including John Ensign, Mark Sanford, Larry Craig, John Edwards and Bill Clinton — though one obvious addition to the list, Sen. David Vitter, seems to have slipped Jindal’s mind. Another omission from that list: former Speaker of the House and Republican resurgent Newt Gingrich, who provided a nice back-cover blurb for Jindal, calling him “one of the most talented, reform-minded governors in the nation.”
Other back-cover backscratchers include Fla. Gov. Jeb Bush and Democratic strategist James Carville (“I don’t agree with the guy on everything, but Governor Jindal has provided competent, honest, and personable leadership throughout some of Louisiana’s toughest times”). But one blurber comes out of left field (or perhaps the backfield): New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton, who says, “If you are looking for a take-charge guy, a leader who understands the need for quick, strong, and decisive action, look no further than Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.”
Leadership and Crisis hits bookstores Tuesday.
MAY 24 Blogger Robert Mann posts this entry about the Baton Rouge Chamber's recent report on Louisiana's higher education system. It's critical to economic development, and yet our system is facing a "funding crisis" with no way to resolve it, the report says. The Chamber says control of tuition and fees must be returned to the higher ed governing boards.
MAY 24 Here's a NBC33 story about Tyrann Mathieu. He has signed with the Arizona Cardinals, inking a $3 million, four-year deal. He gets a signing bonus of $265K, but gets another, larger bonus if he doesn't get cut from the team for doing drugs. The deal reportedly includes mandatory tests and meetings for the player.
MAY 24 Jarvis DeBerry posts here about the redonkulus rhetoric that would have us believe NOLA is a safe city with a murder problem. Maybe the city's crime stats don't compare with its murder stats because you can't manipulate a murder, he says: a dead body's a dead body. It just doesn't make sense, he says, and his readers agree: a poll asks if they believe the city is safe, and more than 90 percent say no.
MAY 24 Jindal administration officials announced Thursday that the privatization of public health care is going to cost a lot more than they budgeted for, the Advocate reports here. "I'm so surprised," said no one. Anywhere. The cost they're projecting now is more than $1 billion - a lot more than the $626 million budgeted for it. And, it's more than it cost the state to operate those hospitals. So why are we doing this again?
MAY 24 Blogger CB Forgotston ridicules the recent PR campaign by the state GOP in the wake of a legislative auditor's request to both major parties. The GOP (apparently unaware that the Dems got the same request) started yammering about being targeted because it had "killed" a tax increase. CB finds that laughable, but it's also pretty funny that the GOP was comparing this episode to the IRS scandal (Because the President has so much to do with our state auditor. Right?).
MAY 24 Politico details some recent fund-raising efforts by Sen. David Vitter, which have raised the question of his future political plans. This time, it is a $5,000 per head "bayou weekend" that includes "Cajun cooking" and an all-caps "alligator hunt," the story reports. Funds raised go to a super PAC that can spend money to support Vitter in federal or state races, the story points out.
MAY 24 The pink building on Royal in the quarter was sold at a sheriff's sale Thursday, this Picayune story reports. An injunction that would have halted the sale wasn't enforced because the family failed to post a $150,000 bond, the story reports. So the owner of the mortgages on the building bought it, for nearly $7 million. Now the feuding family will have to negotiate with that company to get a lease on the building that has housed their business for close to 60 years.
MAY 23 This post in Louisiana Voice tells us about a bill by a Winnsboro lege that would require all public high school students to take at least one Course Choice online class in order to graduate. (What?) Blogger Tom Aswell says it's a monument to "waste and corruption," especially in light of the problems he's exposed with the program in recent weeks. Idaho had a similar program, but voters removed it by a 2-1 margin, Aswell says.
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