Jindal's Barnstorming Itinerary
by Jan Moller - Times-Picayune (excerpt)

Gov. Bobby Jindal in recent weeks has resumed the peripatetic campaign-style pace that has been a source of both political strength and fodder for his harshest critics. "He picked the right time to go undercover, and he had a pretty good excuse, " said Pearson Cross, a political science professor at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. "He wanted to focus his attention on the legislative session. I think, timing-wise, he needed it and it worked out to his advantage." Jindal said his decision to speak out nationally on health-care issues -- including recent articles in the Capitol Hill newspaper and Web site Politico and The Wall Street Journal -- stems from his background before entering elective politics. Jindal served as Louisiana's health secretary, headed up a national Medicare commission and served as a policy deputy in President George W. Bush's administration before being elected to Congress. "This is an issue I feel very strongly about, " Jindal said.