And I absolutely know that he is fully savoring the buzz, regardless of what he does with it.

But as I said in my more recent post, I don’t see any other potential candidate getting showcased on national late night tv spots.

Most conservatives may view Obama as a 1 term candidate, that doesn’t make them correct. I believe that Obama will do an outstanding job if elected and will more than likely cruise to victory with token opposition. Any serious Republican candidate would likely wait 4 more years.

The reason I don’t think he can risk 8 years has nothing to do with his age and has everything to do with the buzz he currently holds. Who is to say that some other “wunderkind” won’t come up the pipe over the next 8 years? Besides, Jindal hasn’t held a job for over 3 years (let alone 8). By the time 8 years passes, you will actually be able to see the results of his tenure as Governor. It is much easier to tell people all about the dragons that your new strict ethics reform will slay than it will be to explain (8 years later) why your ethics reform failed to slay any dragons.

And even though the VEEPs may only debate once, he would still have the opportunity to speak in front of many large groups of conservatives.

McCain may go for someone else. However, if asked, I cannot see Jindal saying no.

Since he has a damn good chance to be keynote speaker, and a damn small chance to get the Veep nod, then yes, a big day as keynote speaker fits quite well into his plans. Jindal understands that he’s not in the top tier of McCain’s potential Veep candidates, but that doesn’t mean he won’t fully savor the “buzz”. (He probably prefers it this way– the hard core conservatives who like Jindal have very little love for Mac.)

“I just don’t think that Jindal can risk 8 years.”

The dude is in his mid-30’s. I promise you that he and his crew think they can “risk” it. Actually, most conservatives actually think that Obama will be a one term president a la Carter. They view this as a 1976 moment, when they “take one for the team”, nominate an unloved “moderate” candidate during a tough year for Republicans, and then get a chance to have a “Reagan-type” candidate in 1980.

But even if Obama serves two terms, in Jindal’s mind, he’ll be the perfect age (44) to run in 2016. And he’ll be able to start planning a national campaign almost immediately after being re-elected in 2011. Or he could be a serious Veep contender in 2012, and much of your current analysis would apply very well to that scenario.

(Btw, the Veeps will likely only debate once.)

Of course Jindal doesn’t have blind ambition. I just don’t think that Jindal can risk 8 years. I don’t see him being able in 2012. If McCain wins, Jindal wont go against the Republican incumbent. If the Demcorat wins, it would really depend on how popular the Democrat would be. Jindal would not be wise at all to run against a popular Democrat incumbent. So Jindal would be banking on a Democrat who is unpopular after 4 years. I don’t think that is something they can afford to risk.

Jindal has enougn national notoriety to be on Jay Leno tomorrow night. After Leno, he will have more notoriety. I firmly believe that Jindal going on Leno will be used by McCain to see how Jindal plays on a national level. If he gets a positive response by the Republican base, how can McCain not consider him?

As for Jindal being right about McCain not picking him, I would have to hear it from the source. However, this discussion isn’t about whether Jindal will get picked. It is if Jindal would say yes (and if he wants it).