Stephen Tillotson is an undeclared sophomore. He can be contacted at [email protected].With 53 percent of the vote, Bobby Jindal won Louisiana’s gubernatorial race on Saturday.
By doing so, he avoided a November runoff and became the youngest governor in the United States. He also happens to be the nation’s first Indian-American governor.
He will replace Gov. Kathleen Blanco, who will remain in office until January.
You may be wondering how any of this is relevant. First of all, I think we all remember Katrina and the devastation it caused in Louisiana and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Kathleen Blanco was governor at the time and received, fairly or unfairly, blame for a delayed response to Katrina. With Gov. Blanco leaving office in a few months, Louisiana will get a breath of fresh air from Bobby Jindal.
A fresh face in the governor’s mansion will help alleviate the tensions that are left over from the Katrina response debacle. Gov. Blanco certainly doesn’t deserve all the criticism, but people do associate her with a distressing, controversial time in Louisiana’s recent history.
Jindal will be a total departure from Gov. Blanco. He is a 36-year-old man who will not be associated with Hurricane Katrina. He has the potential to be a positive change for a state that needs somebody to direct people’s attention away from the remnants of a 2-year-old hurricane. His youth won’t be a cure-all, but it will be an energizing force for a state that wants to move out of the past and into a revitalized, rebuilt future. Just look at John F. Kennedy, our nation’s youngest president.
His youthful energy helped monumentally in his successful mission to put a man on the moon. Unfortunately, he didn’t remain in office very long, but he left a great legacy.
In no way am I comparing Jindal to Kennedy. I’m just saying that a little youth can go a long way.
Aside from this, Jindal’s other unique trait is his Indian heritage. He grew up in Louisiana, but his parents emigrated from India before he was born.
“My mom and dad came to this country in pursuit of the American dream. And guess what happened. They found the American dream to be alive and well right here in Louisiana,” he said in a Reuters report.
People like his parents are what make this country such a diverse place and reinforces the idea that America is a great place in which to live. Jindal’s heritage is important because it shows that people from different backgrounds can succeed in today’s political world. If people of different ethnic backgrounds see an Indian-American as governor, it will be much easier for them to relate to him.
Jindal’s effectiveness in political office remains to be seen, but he will be tested soon enough. Regardless of his effectiveness as a governor, he has already shown that differences in age or heritage can be overcome and, at the same time, embraced in order to be successful.