Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal says that he can stand out as a potential presidential candidate because of the improvements he's made in his state, and that polls showing him running far behind other candidates can change over time.
"This election is not about politicians who are popular by kissing babies and cutting ribbons," Jindal told Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace Sunday. "This election is about big ideas and big change."
Such ideas and change are more likely to come from one of the nation's governors than by senators running for office, Jindal said, as governors manage states and their economies and procedures.
Jindal told Wallace that he's still weighing whether he will run, but if he decides to seek the nomination, "this election to me is all about how do we restore the American Dream for our children and grandchildren."
Back in 2012, Jindal famously said the Republican Party needs to quit being "the stupid party," but now, he says the party has made several strides.
“We’re reaching out, saying we’re an aspirational party in an aspirational country,” Jindal said. The GOP is now being seen as the party that works to help middle and working class families achieve the American dream.
And through Republicans' push for energy independence, including with the growing fracking industry, "we're talking about good paying blue collar jobs with benefits," Jindal said.
Wallace pointed out that a poll of Louisiana voters revealed that a high percentage of them did not believe Jindal will make a good president of the United States. However, the conservative governor pointed out that under his leadership, his state has seen its fortunes turn around. through turning around its deficit and reforming education.
"I think people are looking for big change in Washington, D.C.," said Jindal. "My parents came here over 40 years ago, and my brother and I lived the American Dream."
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Meanwhile, Jindal has come under some criticism for his changing stance on the Common Core education standards. At first, he embraced the standards, but has come to oppose them, and Wallace said some critics say he changed his mind to align himself with the nation's conservatives.
Jindal in November joined a lawsuit against the state's education officials alleging that they violated the law when they implemented the federal Common Core standards.
According to the case initiated by legislators, the state's education agencies failed to publicly advertise the standards before putting them in place, denying parents and community members their right to review and comment on them.
Jindal told Wallace Sunday that he changed his mind because Common Core started out as being about standards for improving education, but then turned into a program orchestrated through the federal government.
"I don't want a one-size fits all solution," he told Wallace. "This is becoming a top down program."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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