Republican Poised to Take Louisiana

A rare flash of hope for Republicans might be the man preparing to take over the nation’s biggest disaster area, the National Review writes. Bobby Jindal is running 35% ahead of any comer to be Louisiana’s first governor elected after Katrina. Jindal might seem a peculiar pick, but, he says, “it’s more of a reform versus a status-quo mentality.”

Political affiliation does seem less than crucial in the Bayou State, where Jindal’s main '07 competitor has switched parties twice. Jindal, a former Rhodes scholar, has won over voters with a law-and-order, pro-business, anti-tax, anti-red tape perspective. With term limits set to give the state legislature a GOP-tinted makeover, Jindal says Louisiana must seize the chance to implement long-needed reforms. (More Bobby Jindal stories.)