Yeh Bobby Bobby Kaun Hai? Yeh Bobby Bobby..

By now, I'm sure we have all heard the name Bobby Jindal. Perhaps just in passing, maybe in a Hurricane Katrina special on CNN, or maybe you came upon it late one night, in the comfort and privacy or your home, while googling "Senator Barney Frank Spank"(Jump to 6:45, it's a long clip).
Either way, we don't think the young governor has been given enough attention from the desi community. Especially considering his impressive accomplishments at such a young age and more importantly because he is about to become a whole lot more relevant to the American Political discourse (does that make us sound like douchebags?). Anyway, here's a little background on the soon to be Republican VP nominee courtesy of Wiki.

Name: Bobby Jindal
Hey Bobby doesn't sound Desi: First name actually Piyush, adopted Bobby from watching the Brady Bunch (aw, that's cute)
Born: June 10th, 1971 (37 years old), Baton Rouge, LA (hence in the running for VP)
Religion: Born Hindu, converted to Catholicism in High School. This could be the first hurdle in attaining the desi vote because that revelation may at first seem a little dubious, if only because we tend to be cynical about that kind of stuff, but upon further review is absolutely genuine. Bobby doesn't hold back on defending his Catholic faith, sometimes even more strongly than it might behoove him. You can read more about it on www.jindalonreligion.com an excellent sampling of his writings and speeches on the subject.
Education: Undergraduate from Brown in Biology and Public Policy ('91). Masters in Political Science from Oxford(Rhodes Scholar). Impressive!
Biwi / Bachay: Supriya Jindal (36). Met Bobby in high school, but did not date him until 1996 when his date to a Mardi Gras Ball canceled at the last minute, so I guess that's cute too. She looks kinda like the good bahu on a Zee TV soap opera, so that's good, but they kiss and dash in public, which will probably make desi voters uncomfortable as it gives me the heebs n' jeebs.
3 Kids - Selia Elizabeth, Shaan Robert & Slade Ryan (sweet names).

Political Background:

• Got his start in 1996 when he was appointed by then Governor of Lousiana, Murphy Foster Jr., to the office of Secretary of Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals. In 3 years, converted a $400 million deficit to a $220 million surplus.
  
• He was appointed to a number of different commissions from that point on
  
• The most notable appointment came in 2001 when he was unanimously confirmed to the office of Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for Planning and Evaluation based on the nomination of W. Or wait was it Assistant to the Secretary of Health and Human Services for Planning and Evaluation...same thing...no it's not. Anyway, at 30, Bobby is the youngest person ever assigned to that post.
• Ran in and and lost the 2003 Louisiana Gubernatorial Election by a margin of 52-48
• After losing the election, ran for and won the seat vacated by David Vitter in Louisiana's 1st congressional district. David Vitter admitted to using a DC madame in 2007 which has nothing to do with anything but allows me to link to this terrific video.
• After two years in the House, Bobby ran for and easily won the Governorship of Louisiana. He's the youngest governor in the US, and the first non-white governor of Louisiana since the civil war, when a guy named P.B.S Pincher was in office for 35 days. He was biracial and P.B.S is clearly a rap name.

Political Views: Jindal is hardcore ultraconservative. He's pro-life, anti-stem cell research, supports teaching intelligent design in school, not a big fan of the separation between church and state, voted for making the Patriot Act permanent, voted against gay marriage, wants to fence up the borders and received an A Rating from the Gun Owners of America.
Hey Wait, He Kinda Sounds Like a D-Bag: Well I guess that depends on your definition of a d-bag. Like we said, he is ultraconservative and like any good Desi kid, he goes about proving it by showcasing his conservatism 100%.
In doing my background for this post, there were two positive things that stand out above anything else about Bobby Jindal.
1) He is ridiculously competent.
2) He absolutely believes everything that he says.
As you can imagine both of those qualities are refreshing.
Of course the major negative is that he really doesn't have a kinship with his fellow desis or minorities in general. It's seems as if he's trying to out-conservative the most conservative members of the Republican party so that no one can point a finger at his let's say "nontraditional" appearance. His policies and his voting record make him come off as a "close the door behind me" type of immigrant, which I guess, isn't uncommon in our community.
So Should We Vote For Him: That comes down simply to what direction it is that you believe this country should go into. When it comes to the technicality of being a public servant, Bobby Jindal is easily one of the most well equipped candidates you could find. He's hard working, honest, brilliant and does the work he promises to do. If you agree with the things he stands for there's no one better for you to cast your vote for. If you disagree with him, then you better hope he loses because there's no way he's not going to deliver.