The most recent polls have shown that Jindal has the support of nearly 50 per cent of the electorate. Till the very final hours of the campaign, Jindal kept urging all Louisianans to show him the strongest support possible to reach the magic number that will automatically make him the new governor.
He declared, "Please make sure to call and e-mail everyone you know and remind them to vote. In this election, we have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to take our state back and bring Louisiana from the bottom of all those national lists to the top where we belong."
Jindal said that he knew the people of Louisiana are tired of seeing their friends and family leave the state to find a higher-paying job or a better school. "I look forward to the day when the states around us are complaining about losing their people and businesses to Louisiana," he said.
He expressed confidence that, "we can turn our state around. I know we can win the war against corruption, government incompetence and out-of-control spending. It will not be easy. It will be a fight, but it is a fight worth fighting, and I know it is a fight we can win."
Unlike the last time he ran for governor, four years ago, Jindal has waged a massive fight-back against a spate of negative advertisements by the Democrats. The ads accuse him of denying health care to minorities, veterans and the indigent when he was head of the state's Department of Health and Hospitals more than a decade ago. His opponents have also questioned some of his Congressional votes with respect to veterans' health benefits.
If Jindal were to capture more than the 50 percent of the votes, he will be able to avoid a November 19 run-off and will automatically win the governorship, but he has acknowledged that he may not reach this magic number. The most recent polls have shown that if there's a low turnoutand indications are that it will be so because of voter apathyit may work to Jindal's advantage with the majority of the more affluent, white conservative populace of the state casting their ballot for the 36-year-old Republican.
Four years ago, after winning the primary, Jindal had been well on his way to victory leading his Democratic challenger Kathleen Blanco (now the incumbent governor who is not seeking re-election) by more than double digits, till the final days of the campaign. Then the Democrats had launched a series of negative ads questioning Jindal's actions to turn the Louisiana DHH's deficit to a surplus.
The ads said that he had done so by slashing health benefits for the minorities, the veterans and the poor. The negative publicity had whittled down Jindal's comfortable lead and finally he had lost by a few percentage points.
At the time, when rediff.com kept asking Jindal why he wouldn't respond to these ads, he maintained that he would not get down and dirty like the Democrats and resort to negative campaigning.
But some his mentors, including former governor Mike Foster, were incensed. Foster had recruited Jindal, then only 24, from Mckinsey and Company and given him the task of putting Louisiana's health department in shape. Foster had felt that his ex-protégé was being too smug and overly confident if he thought that his comfortable lead will not be affected by the negative ads by the Democrats.
This time, Jindal is not taking any chances. He has been refuting all the negative ads thrown at him point by point, although he is leading his closest Democratic rival, state Senator Walter Boasso, by 63 percent to 14 percent of the votes.
Jindal's campaign manager Timmy Teepell said last week that Boasso's latest ad was yet another "false attack on Bobby, accusing him of voting against veterans' health care."
"Boasso's newest attack totally mischaracterises a vote on a blatantly partisan procedural motion on legislation Bobby supported to help fund active military in Louisiana and bring our state thousands of new jobs," pointed out Teepell.
Teepell added that Jindal had recently been endorsed by Louisiana veterans from all across the state. He quoted former Adjunct General of the Louisiana National Guard Geberal Ansel Stroud, who had said, "I have followed Bobby's record as a Congressman and was very impressed with this strong support of our military and veterans. I will be proud to support him to be the next governor of Louisiana."
Jindal's campaign also took on ads that called him 'heartless,' because of the cuts he made in the healthcare budget in Louisiana when he headed the DHH in order to clear up the massive deficit the Department had been carrying for years.
Argues Teepell, "The truth is that Bobby's strong record on improving health care in Louisiana is indisputable. His work at DHH not only won him the endorsement of the Times Picayune (the state's largest circulating newspaper published from New Orleans) and accolades by the Baton Rouge Advocate, but Senators John Breaux and Mary Landrieu (both Democrats) also personally praised his service."
He added, "Bobby was able to create savings in our health care system by rooting out millions of dollars worth of waste and abuse. This made him some powerful enemies and they have been after him ever since."
The campaign said, "When Bobby took over DHH, all the experts agreed that Louisiana was headed toward a health care meltdown that would have jeopardised the lives of thousands of patients across the state. Bobby came in and fixed the problem on the backs of many who were gaming the systemthereby securing healthcare for those who needed it the most."
"We have launched a quick and direct response to the lies and misinformation in this most recent Boasso attack ad," said Teepell.
Even as the campaign fought back, it also received a major shot in the arm when the Times Picayune made an unequivocal endorsement of Jindal for the post of governor in an editorial titled 'Bobby Jindal for Governor.' The newspaper, which won the Pulitzer for its coverage of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, said Louisiana's "monumental challenges call for an extraordinary leader."
The editorial stated, "We need a governor who transcends conventional politics, is sharply focused on a better future and offers a decisive break from a past mired in underachievement and corruption. We believe Bobby Jindal is that person."
The newspaper said, "His energy and innovative approach to government are refreshing, as is his instinct for efficiency, business-friendly measures and job creation. And his ability to dig into the nitty-gritty work of government is impressive."
"But it's Mr Jindal's intangible qualities that give shape to a leader," the Times Picayune said, and added, "His sense of purpose, a strong ethical compass and a passion to make our state a better place Bobby Jindal is our unequivocal choice at this crucial moment in Louisiana's history."
