By Arun Kumar,IANS,
Washington : Louisiana’s Indian American Governor Bobby Jindal and two other potential Republican White House hopefuls have not ruled out running for president in 2012.
“What I’m saying is I’m running for re-election. I have no, no plans beyond that,” said Jindal on NBC’s on Meet the Press Sunday after facing repeated questions about his political future.
Asked if he wants to be president with speculation rife that he is laying the groundwork for a run in 2012, Jindal first said: “I want to run for re-election to be governor of Louisiana in 2011. I told the people of our state we have a once in a lifetime chance to change our state.”
“We just finished the longest presidential election in America’s history. I don’t think our country needs another election. I think we need this president (Barack Obama) to be successful. We need to work with him. We need to, when we disagree with him, stand on principle,” he added.
Pressed if he was re-elected in 2011, would he serve out his term as governor, Jindal said: “It’s my-if the people of Louisiana will have me, I absolutely want to be governor for the next seven years. Now, that’s up to the voters of Louisiana.”
But if he wins, would he serve out his term, he said: “I want the people- yeah, it’s my intent to run for re- election. If they elect me to serve as governor, I will…”
Asked if he was not ruling out a run for the presidency, Jindal said: “What I’m saying is I’m running for re-election. I have no plans beyond that.”
“Absolutely,” he said when asked if his position, essentially, was that he was focused on doing the job that the people of Louisiana have elected him to do.
South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford and Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty too would not definitively rule out running On Fox News Sunday.
“Is it a plan? Absolutely not. Is it a likelihood? Absolutely not. But I’ve learned that you never say guaranteed on tomorrow when you don’t know tomorrow,” Sanford said.
Pawlenty said he is currently deciding whether to run for re-election in 2010. “And if I do, you know, people would expect you to serve out that term.”