Are Obama and Jindal kindred spirits? At least for now
by Stephanie Grace - Times-Picayune (excerpt)

In the weeks since Democrat Barack Obama became the president-elect, Gov. Bobby Jindal has often been hailed as the new face of the Republican Party, perhaps even the "Republicans' Version of Obama," as a Washington Post headline in Sunday's paper put it.

So when the two met face to face this week during the president-elect's brainstorming session with the nation's governors in Philadelphia, the subject of a future rivalry was bound to come up.

And yes, Jindal confirmed afterwards, it did -- albeit only in a brief, lighthearted and private moment.

"President-elect Obama and I had a very nice, friendly conversation about the issues," Jindal said upon his return. "As he was leaving, he made a very friendly, complimentary, joking comment. I will keep it private because it was said in private."

Obama's triumph, the Democratic rout in Congress, and Jindal's emergence as one of a handful of up-and-coming leaders in a battered Republican Party all cast Jindal as a leading voice of the loyal opposition.

What will be interesting to watch, though, is how Jindal strikes the delicate balance between the loyal part and the opposition part.