The "I'm Not Running" Excuse

I'm reminded of a scene with Glen Close and Tom Cruise in Robert Redfords fantastic ( yet widely panned ) Lions For Lambs where, when pressed by Close and prefaced by Redford's character as to Cruise's true motivations, he insists that he is "not running for President".

Enter Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal:

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Gov. Bobby Jindal traveled Friday to Iowa, a state that is pivotal to a presidential campaign, in a trip that has heightened speculation that Jindal is planning a presidential bid in 2012.

But Jindal said the speculation is misplaced. He said he's running for re-election and has no plans to seek the White House.

"The most important thing for me is to be the best governor for the state of Louisiana," the governor said in an interview. "If the people of Louisiana will allow me, I'm going to serve for two terms.

"I'm not running for president."

From wwltv.com

Considering that Iowa and Louisiana don't have anything to do with one another, it's a far assumption that Jindal is doing a little pre-2012 research into just what his chances may be.

I'm not entirely certain how well he will play with the other candidates that

However, his appearance as a person of deep, religious perspective could either be seen as a bonus or a hinderance, depending on whether or not you think being an exorcism enthusiast counts:

As others noted during his 2003 and 2007 gubernatorial campaigns (see update), in an essay Jindal wrote in 1994 for the New Oxford Review, a serious right-wing Catholic journal, Jindal narrated a bizarre story of a personal encounter with a demon, in which he participated in an exorcism with a group of college friends. And not only did they cast out the supernatural spirit that had possessed his friend, Jindal wrote that he believes that their ritual may well have cured her cancer.

It's interesting to see the rampant speculation from the hardline-conservatives over who is going to run in 2012. It would seem that they should be focused on not having a repeat performance of this election. Still, there are plenty of people foaming at the mouth that Palin actually stands a chance.

One has to consider the fascination that so many within the Republican Right have with Bobby Jindal. Perhaps they are operating under the notion that he is their version of Barack Obama. Perhaps.

Regardless of whom it is that will be running four years from now, one would think that conservative Republicans would be more worried about how their party is governing now.