SAJAforum

JINDAL: "60 Minutes" profiles Bobby Jindal

[See SAJAforum's extensive collection of Bobby Jindal posts, including a special one-hour webcast ABOUT Jindal on the first anniversary of his taking office]

After Gov. Bobby Jindal's widely-panned speech after President Obama's appearance on Tuesday, the last thing I would have expected was a profile of him on the top-rated CBS newsmagazine "60 Minutes." But that's exactly what's happening tonight, 7-8 pm:

He's been called the Republican Obama and some think he may run for the presidency some day. But his opposition speech after the president's address to Congress this week caused some to say he's too young and inexperienced. Morley Safer profiles the governor of Louisiana. Deirdre Naphin and Katy Textor are the producers.

UPDATE: Here's video of the piece (transcript below):

Watch CBS Videos Online

After seeing the segment, please post your comments below.

We asked Mike Sager, writer of the most extensive magazine profile ever done on Jindal ("Bobby Jindal, All-American" - as part of Esquire picking the governor as among the six most influential people in the world) and author of "Wounded Warriors: Those for Whom the War Never Ends," to comment on this week's Jindal news. He told SAJAforum:

POLITICS: Bobby Jindal gets some "slum love"

The reviews for Bobby Ji have been a little less than fabulous: his Tuesday night response to Obama's speech to Congress has been derided on the right, left and center, and the Facebook group "Bobby Jindal is Kenneth the Page" has 13,538 members as of this moment--that's the group's clever little photo composite of Kenneth, a character from 30 Rock, and the guv.

But don't count the man out. If anything, he may inadvertently get some sympathy after the exchange below, between talk show host Curtis Sliwa and RNC Chairman Michael Steele. Via Politico:

SLIWA: Now, using a little bit of that street terminology, are you giving him any Slum love, Michael?

STEELE: (laughter)

SLIWA: Because he is — when guys look at him and young women look at him — they say oh, that's the slumdog millionaire, governor. So, give me some slum love.

STEELE: I love it. (inaudible) ... some slum love out to my buddy. Gov. Bobby Jindal is doing a friggin' awesome job in his state. He's really turned around on some core principles — like hey, government ought not be corrupt. The good stuff ... the easy stuff.

So..... slumdog = brown??

If anyone could translate that exchange for us, much would our appreciation be.

See earlier: "After Obama speech, Prime Time for Jindal"

JINDAL: After Obama's speech, prime time for Bobby Jindal

[See SAJAforum's extensive collection of Bobby Jindal posts, including a special one-hour webcast ABOUT Jindal on the first anniversary of his taking office]

UPDATE: A screengrab from 10:25 pm ET. Standing by for transcript. What did YOU think? Post in the comments section below!

~~~

On Tuesday, Feb. 23, at 9 pm ET, President Obama makes the equivalent of "The State of the Union" address to Congress (this is not an official SOTU speech - those happen each January starting with the second year of a presidency). All eyes will be on Washington, D.C., as he discusses the landscape as he sees it.

Immediately following his speech, the official Republican reply/rejoinder/rebuttal will be delivered by Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. This is a sign of the amount of importance the Republican leadership places on Jindal right now, especially as he has cast himself as opposed to portions of Obama's stimlus bill (more on that below).

LISTS: Desis on list of 100 most influential people in business ethics

Ethisphere magazine is out with its 2008 list of "100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics." Yes, they managed to find some positive ethics news in a year which had precious little on that front. From the list announcement:

But not all was bad in 2008. Many individuals stood out for their positive achievements in the business ethics world as well. For that, we created this year’s list of the 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics.

In order to develop the list, we reached out to a number of professors from notable business schools around the world to assemble an advisory board (for the names of the members of the advisory board see below). With the help of the advisory board, as well as a group of Ethisphere editors, writers and fact checkers, we were able to develop a list of 100 individuals from all around the world that greatly influenced the business ethics realm over the past year. All advisory panel members boldly gave up their right to be on this list (they all deserve to be) in order to help nominate others.

What is important to note about this list is that it rewards individuals who were influential this year, rather than over the course of their career. While many people on the list have a lifetime of positive achievements, these individuals made the list for their actions in 2008.

On the following pages you’ll find 2008’s 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics. While you may not agree with the actions, political leanings or personality of some individuals on the list, there is no dispute that each one of them influenced business behavior over the course of the year.

I spotted two desi names on the list (in addition to Prof. Rama Velamuri of the Shanghai's China Europe International Business School, who served on the panel that helped pick the list):

8. Bobby Jindal - Governor of Louisiana

Category: Government and Regulatory
Did What? He set new standards

Jindal, hailed by many in the media as the “star” of the U.S. Republican party, helped convince lawmakers in Louisiana to pass tough new ethics laws which would give the state some of the most stringent ethics laws in the country. He championed the reforms by arguing that until Louisiana cleaned up its reputation it would be at a competitive disadvantage for attracting new business.

53. Sudhanshu Pokhriyal – Director Hyderabad & Coastal Andhra Pradesh Operations for Coca-Cola

Category: Design and Sustainability
Did What? He conserved water

Pokhriyal accepted the Golden Peacock award this year for Coca-Cola’s work in water management and conservation in India. This is even more note worthy because it wasn’t long ago that Coca-Cola had a PR crisis after an Indian environmental group release a report on pesticide levels in Coca-Cola products in India. The report said that the products contained 24 times the amount of pesticides as allowed by the Bureau of Indian Standards. Since then Coca-Cola has drastically turned around its image in the region.

Among the other interesting names on the list: Barack Obama #14; columnists Tom Friedman #20 and Paul Krugman #31. See the full list here.

Post your comments below.

WEBCAST: Discussion about Bobby Jindal, Louisiana Governor

[PLEASE SUPPORT SAJA: Help us meet our new $15,000 challenge grant:
http://saja.org/articles/saja-group-receives-prestigious-challenge-grant ]

It's been exactly a year since Bobby Jindal, the first South Asian elected to Congress in 50 years, was sworn in as governor of Louisiana. On the occasion of his first anniversary in office, SAJA is hosting a nonpartisan call-in webcast to discuss his term so far and possible role in national politics. Joining us will be journalists (from Louisiana and elsewhere) who have covered him for several years, as well as Mike Sager, who has written the most extensive national profile of Jindal, in the 75th anniversary issue of Esquire, which dubbed him one of six most influential people in the 21st Century (along with Rupert Murdoch, Vladimir Putin, Steve Jobs, LeBron James and director P.T. Anderson) - you can read that piece here. Here's a recent story, "Jindal in 2012?" by Politico's Jonathan Martin. See SAJA's extensive coverage of Jindal over the last 2.5 years at SAJAforum.org/bobby_jindal

SPEAKERS INCLUDE:
Mark Ballard, editor, capitol news bureau of The Advocate in Baton Rouge
C.B. Forgotston, a lawyer and blogger who frequently writes Jindal
K.P. Nayar, US editor, the Telegraph of Kolkata
Roop Raj, anchor, WDSU-TV, New Orleans
Mike Sager, writer of in-depth profile of Jindal in Esquire
and YOU - call in to have your views heard! +1-347-324-5991

[NOTE: Gov. Jindal is NOT scheduled to be a speaker, though he was invited and is always welcome to call in]

Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2009
noon-1 pm EST
11-noon pm CST
See local time around the world: http://snurl.com/9yto4

Listen live or to a recording:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/saja/2009/01/14/Discuss-Bobby-Jindal
(you can go and set an e-mail reminder for yourself)
or listen live via your phone by dialing this NYC number +1-347-324-5991

Send your questions/comments via e-mail to saja[at]columbia.edu (subject
= webcast) or by posting them in comments section below.

You can also use the chatroom that will be open at the link at
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/saja/2009/01/14/Discuss-Bobby-Jindal ask questions.

As soon as the event is over, you will be able to access - at
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/saja - a recording of the proceedings.
This is also available as an downloadable MP3 file for your personal
collection. [If you want to subscribe to this as a podcast on iTunes,
go to "Advanced" within iTunes, then select "Subscribe to podcast"
andtype http://www.blogtalkradio.com/saja/feed and hit OK.]

PREZ RACE: Catching up with the Jindals - Supriya and Bobby

[See SAJA posts, resources, sources on the 2008 presidential race]

As you may know, SAJAforum closely covered the Bobby-Jindal-as-possible-VP story very closely. But since then, we have not done much on Governor Jindal (except when Esquire named him one of the six most influential people for the 21st Century).

We now have a reason to write about two Jindals. Let's start with First Lady Supriya Jindal (official bio in full below). She's hitting the campaign trail for Senator John McCain:

Louisiana First Lady Supriya Jindal will campaign forJohn McCain with Cindy McCain in Pennsylvania today and Tuesday, Oct. 20-21.

They will attend rallies in Bucks County and Philadelphia today, and make a stop in Blue Bell, Pa., according to a news release by Melissa Sellers with the Governor's Office.

On Tuesday, Mrs. Jindal will attend another campaign rally with Cindy in Pennsylvania before returning home to Louisiana, the release states.

Meanwhile, Gov. Jindal is looking ahead to 2012 (click on the image to magnify). From Politico's Jonathan Martin:

Jindal, the Louisiana governor widely seen as a Republican rising star, will keynote a high-profile  Christian conservative fundraising dinner next month in Iowa, his office confirms.

Jindal will speak at the Iowa Family Policy Center's “Celebrating the Family” banquet in suburban Des Moines on November 22nd, according to his spokeswoman, Melissa Sellers.  While in the state, he also may to go to Cedar Rapids to see some of those areas impacted  by the summer floods.   Jindal, of  course, has led his state's recovery from Katrina since being elected in 2007.

It will be Jindal's first visit to Iowa, Sellers said.

The trip is a reminder that, even with a presidential election looming, caucus politics is never far away in the Hawkeye State.

The Christian conservative organization is led by Chuck Hurley, a well-known activist who first backed Sam Brownback before switching over to Mike Huckabee in this year's GOP nomination battle.   

Their flyer touting Jindal's speech features quotes from conservative luminaries.  "The next Ronald Reagan," says Rush Limbaugh.

Post your comments, updates below.

BOBBY JINDAL: Asking if Bobby Jindal is "Indian Enough"

[See SAJAforum's collection of posts, resources and sources about the 2008 convention]

The first reviews of Governor Bobby Jindal's handling of Hurricane Gustav has been positive [see SAJAforum coverage of his first big test and its connection to the Republican National Convention]. All the attention that Jindal's been getting [see SAJAforum's Bobby Jindal collection] has meant greater scrutiny of his positions and statements, including among South Asians.

TheRoot.com, a site from the Slate group aimed at African-Americans, has an interesting piece by Shiwani Srivastava, a Seattle freelancer that asks a provocative question: "Is Bobby Jindal Indian Enough?"

...the more press Jindal gets, the more he becomes the subject of fierce debate among Indian Americans questioning if he's "Indian enough." Politics aside, the dialogue sounds an awful lot like the growing pains the black community struggled with for generations and still struggles with in many ways. In Indian communities around the country, the pressing questions bubble quickly to the surface. Is it enough to have "one of our own" in a position of power?  Does it really achieve anything for our community in a larger, more permanent sense, simply to have this young Republican ascend?             
<snip>
This wrestling with cultural credibility is old-hat for most African Americans. There are go-to columnists and spokespeople for this kind of thing. But Indian Americans have only begun to grapple with this, being relatively new to the national stage. Jesse Jackson might be increasingly irrelevant to post civil rights-generation blacks, but we are still waiting for our Jesse, let alone our Barack.          

Maybe that's why Jindal—love him or hate him—means so much to us. Dinner parties erupt into conflict at the mention of his name. There are numerous groups on Facebook both for and against him. Supporters and detractors alike are known to mutter, "Well, at least he has an Indian wife." Ten years ago, we were happy seeing an Indian-American actor play another taxi driver on TV. Most Indian communities were not prepared for the first Indian-American governor or for a strong contender for the vice presidential nomination.
<snip>
As Indians wait to see if "a skinny guy with a funny name" really can become president, we're watching with a keenness rooted in our own aspirations.

Read her essay in full here, then read a transcript of her chat on WashingtonPost.com about the essay, including her answers to such questions as:

• New York, NY: In your article, you discuss the parallels between Bobby Jindal and the Indian Community and Obama and the Black Community. What impact, if any, do you think the election of Obama will have on the Indian Community?
• Glasgow, Scotland: Is it not true that Hindu Indians are not able to identify with Gov. Jindal because of the simple fact he converted to Catholicism? Is this akin to racism?
• Brooklyn, NY: Within the African American community, particularly in the youth, there is a strong, inverse association between education and "blackness". Basely put, intelligence equals whiteness, and is despised. Do you find that education is a factor in maintaining one's "Indian-ness"?
• San Francisco: Hey Shiwani - I was wondering if you noticed an age-based bias among Indians towards/against Bobby Jindal?

What do you think? Post your comments below.

SAJAforum's collection of Bobby Jindal posts.

PREZ RACE: Desi Spotting at the RNC

[See SAJAforum posts, sources and resources on the 2008 presidential race]

After doing a post filled with desi spotting about the Democratic National Convention last week, we turn our attention to the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Some items:

* Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal was slated to give the keynote address on Day 3, the same kind of slot that, in 2004, helped bring a Senate-candidate Barack Obama to the world's attention. Thanks to Hurricane Gustav (read our coverage of his big test), he decided to stay at home and gave up the spotlight this year. We are left to just guess what kind of bounce he might have gotten had he been able to make that speech. From an article by K.P. Nayar of the Kokalta Telegraph:

[Jindal] was to have made history here this week by addressing the Republican National Convention on its third day during prime time. No one of Indian descent has ever addressed a national convention of any American political party.
[Update from Democratic strategist Toby Chaudhuri: "Please be advised that State Rep. Swati Dandekar, D-Iowa, spoke at the Democratic Convention in 2004 and DNC Rule Committee Co-Chair Sunita Leeds spoke at the Democratic Convention this year, so Indian Americans have a long history of addressing major party political conventions. Gov. Bobby Jindal, R-La., would've been the first Indian American to speak at the Republican Convention, but his schedule change means that to date, no Indian American has ever addressed the GOP crowd. Bridget McCain remains the only South Asian American to be introduced at the Republican Convention."

From Manu Raju in The Hill newspaper:

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s performance during Hurricane Gustav has increased his stock for a future bid for the Republican presidential nomination, party activists said here Tuesday.

Jindal benefited from days of national media coverage showing him directing a successful mass evacuation from New Orleans, a stark contrast from the bungled response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

His performance in the crisis was noted 1,000 miles away at the GOP convention, which at one point was thought to feature the 37-year-old wunderkind as Sen. John McCain’s running mate.

* Next, an item about the first South Asian to ever be introduced prominently at a U.S. political convention: Bridget McCain, the daughter Cindy and John McCain adopted from Bangladesh.

John McCain's adopted daughter from Bangladesh introduced - Telegraph via kwout

ABC's Jake Tapper explains the backstory:

Sen. John McCain's former aide Wes Gullett just spoke at the Republican convention, telling the story about how Cindy McCain, visiting one of Mother Theresa's orphanages on a trip abroad, brought home two Bangladeshi orphans. John and Cindy McCain adopted one of them, Wes Gullett and his wife Deborah adopted the other. It's a remarkable story, one that probably doesn't get told enough.

HURRICANE GUSTAV: South Asian journos covering Gustav

Lots of South Asian angles to the Gustav coverage that we are seeing on TV and elsewhere. Of course, there's Bobby Jindal, the governor of Louisiana, who has been overseeing the preparations (see SAJAforum's post about him and the hurricane).

There are also several South Asians who have been covering the storm. If you know of others covering it via print, broadcast or online (including producers and editors) - or know of other connections we should know about - please post about them in the comments section below or e-mail saja[at]columbia.edu. UPDATE, Sept. 9, 2008:
LISTEN to a discussion with FIVE South Asian journalists who covered Gustav here.

Above: Sunday, Aug. 31, 6 pm ET - That's Ali Velshi, CNN business anchor, far away from the NYC studio and his sharp banker's suits. He's in Grand Isle, Louisiana, where he's reporting on the approaching hurricane and its impact on the oil production facilities in the area.

Below: Sunday, Aug. 31, 9 am ET - That's Hari Sreenivasan, CBS News correspondent in New Orleans (also known as "Hari-cane" for all his coverage of natural disasters). One of his Gustav pieces is embedded below.

Watch CBS Videos Online

Above: Monday, Sept. 1, 10:40 am ET - Dr. Sanjay Gupta with Anderson Cooper on CNN. Gupta was also on Larry King Live, talking about the hurricane.

Below: Monday, Sept. 1, 6 am ET - Priya David of CBS News was in Texas, covering some of the nine million folks from Louisiana who evacuated. One of her Gustav pieces is embedded below.

Watch CBS Videos Online

Covering this story:

• Ali Velshi, CNN business anchor, reporting from Grand Isle about the oil infrastructure.
• Hari Sreenivasan, CBS News correspondent in New Orleans
  
• Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent, reporting from East Jefferson Hospital in New Orleans (his 2005 reports from Charity Hospital highlighted some of the most troublesome aspects of the government's Katrina coverage).
• Priya David, CBS News correspondent, reporting on evacuees in Texas (update: she then went to South Carolina for Hanna, then Miami for Ike).
• Roop Raj, morning anchor for WDSU in New Orleans, has been covering the hurricane. A former weatherman, he's a veteran of the Katrina coverage - anchoring for nearly 17 hours straight when that hurricane hit in 2005.
• Shaila Dewan, NYT correspondent, writes a front page in the Sept. 1 paper:
  A Long and Weary Bus Ride, Haunted by Memories (her dateline: "ABOARD A BUS FROM NEW ORLEANS"). Read some of her 2005 Katrina coverage here and here.
• Kiran Chetry, anchor on CNN's "American Morning" - in NYC
  
• Kiran Khalid, producer on ABC's "Good Morning America" - in NYC
• Vinod Jose, is Pacifica Radio's news producer supervising the reporters on the ground covering the hurricane [vinodkjose at gmail]
• Subrata De, Brian Williams's producer for NBC Nightly News, is in New Orleans for "NBC Nightly News"

UPDATE: Sept. 9, 2008: LISTEN to a discussion with FIVE South Asian journalists who covered Gustav here.

If you know of other South Asian journos covering it via print, broadcast or online (including producers and editors) - or know of other connections we should know about - please post about them in the comments section below or e-mail saja[at]columbia.edu.

• See SAJAforum post, "Bobby Jindal's big test"
• See Poynter.org's excellent resources for covering the hurricane
• FLASHBACK: Here's SAJA's 2005 resources about Hurricane Katrina
• FLASHBACK: South Asian journos cover the 2006 Saddam Hussein execution

HURRICANE GUSTAV: Bobby Jindal's big test

[A screengrab from Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal's afternoon press conference about Hurricane Gustav on Sunday, Aug. 31, 2008, with Michael Chertoff, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security next to him, looking down. You can watch the 15-minute video at this link. This is from CNN.com - note the Dow ad featuring young Sikh boys on the right - click to magnify.]

For three years now, I (and many other observers) have been saying that the best thing that happened to Bobby Jindal was losing his 2003 bid for governor (he was defeated by Democrat Kathleen Blanco). That meant he got to run and get elected to Congress in 2004 and was, therefore, in Washington, D.C., when Hurricane Katrina his in August 2005. The mismanagement of the storm and its aftermath were blamed squarely on then Governor Blanco, along, of course, with FEMA chief Michael ("heckuva job, Brownie") Brown and others. Had Jindal won, he'd have been in Blanco's place, getting that blame.

Jindal then ran for and won the governorship in 2007, and the arrival of Hurricane Gustav, three years almost to the day since Katrina, represents the first big test of Louisiana's - and Jindal's - preparedness for a major crisis.

So far, he's been getting good reviews - but the storm has yet to make landfall as of this writing. We'll be reviewing his performance in the days ahead.

Meanwhile, here's an exchange I caught on CNN today. It's between anchor Rick Sanchez and Bob Barr, the former Republican Congressman-turned-Libertarian-Party-presidential candidate. Barr was on with Sanchez to discuss politics and Jindal had just held his press conference. He certainly impressed Sanchez:

SANCHEZ: Watch this fellow Bobby Jindal, the governor of Louisiana and you almost say to yourself here's a guy who's handling this situation, doing really yeoman's work. He seems composed, he seems organized, he seems to be a very effective communicator. And your are almost wondering and asking yourself, boy here is a guy who would have made a very good vice-presidential choice, wouldn't he?

BARR: And maybe in the years ahead he'll make a good presidential choice for the Republican party. Very, very impressive fellow. Has a tremendous grasp of figures, organization, process, in addition to presenting himself very well. He has a tremendous future, I think.

SANCHEZ: It's not fair to ask the question, it's almost like being a backseat driver... But had the McCain campaign had another week to make this decision and they'd seen this guy's performance, do you think there was the possibility they may have... what's the old... I could have had a V8, (slapping his own forehead) I could have a Jindal? [This is a reference to the ads for V8 vegetable juice, featuring forehead slapping and the tagline "Could have had a V8".]

BARR: Well they, of course, did look at Jindal very carefully. I think what may happen in the days and weeks ahead is  they may regret perhaps not having vetted their current pick quite as well as they could have. [Side note: WP's Dan Balz and Robert Barnes are reporting that Palin WAS vetted well.]

See SAJAforum's coverage of Sarah Palin's pick as VP, which put an end to all the speculation about Jindal.

In addition to being all over the TV on Sunday, Jindal was also featured in a prominent interview in the New York Times Magazine. See SAJAforum's coverage of it here.

FLASHBACK: Here's SAJA's 2005 resources about Katrina

What do YOU think? Post your comments below.