Jindal to Newsmax: Whether I'm VP or not, Romney's the Man

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal wouldn’t speculate on Friday on reports that he is seen as the leading choice as vice president by presumptive GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney — only telling Newsmax.TV that “this may be the most important election of our lifetime.”

“I look forward to supporting Gov. Romney in whoever he selects for VP — I’m not going to speculate on that — I do have the job that I want,” Jindal said at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Chicago.

“This may be the most important election of our lifetime. I know that gets said a lot, but it really is true this election cycle. We can’t afford another four more years of President Obama.”

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Newsmax’s Chief Washington correspondent, Ronald Kessler reported on Wednesday that, according to campaign sources, Jindal was increasingly being seen as Romney’s likely vice presidential choice. The report also cited an opinion piece for Politico written last month by Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist.

Norquist told Kessler that he had written the piece knowing that “Jindal is a leading option.”

However, Jindal is rarely mentioned in speculation about Romney’s possible choice, according to Kessler’s report. A rising star in the Republican Party, he suffered a setback when he bombed delivering the Republican response to President Barack Obama’s first speech to Congress on Feb. 24, 2009.

“Well, it was very kind of him to write the article,” Jindal said of Kessler’s report. “Look, the reality is this election is not about who Mitt Romney picks as his VP. This election isn’t about who’s the most charismatic speaker on TV. This is about two very different visions for America.

“President Obama’s outlined a vision — call it the ‘Occupy Wall Street perspective’ — that’s all about class warfare, managing the slow decline of America. He’s grown the federal government to 24 percent of the GDP. He has the federal government taking over our health care, running car companies, bailing out banks.

“You have a federal government that’s accumulated $1 trillion a year in deficit spending, $15 trillion of debt, an anemic economic recovery, unemployment above 8 percent over 40 months and counting.

“The alternative, conservative vision is about preserving the American Dream for our children,” Jindal continued. “We say, ‘You’re not guaranteed an equal outcome, you’re guaranteed an equal opportunity.’ When you work hard, get a great education, you can do better than your parents.

“What’s at stake in this election is do we embrace that second vision of a more limited federal government so our kids can do even better than we have done or do we mortgage their future with spending that’s not sustainable and go the way of Europe? That’s what this election is about.”