Jindal is already testing whether people are hungry for him to seek the White House. Jindal 'thinking and praying' on 2016

Bobby Jindal said Monday that he is still “thinking and praying” about a presidential run, while urging the GOP to lay out a positive agenda and back muscular defense spending ahead of the 2016 election.

The Louisiana governor didn’t give a specific date for his decision, saying during an appearance at the American Enterprise Institute that it would come after the Nov. 4 midterm election and “sometime after the holiday.” But with some potential competitors deferring until spring 2015, Jindal could be one of the first Republicans out of the gate.


Jindal spent a good deal of his energy on Monday chastising President Barack Obama over his foreign policy decisions, but he also appeared frustrated with the GOP’s reputation as an opposition party.

“The people in this country are hungry for a big change. There’s a lot of frustration,” he said. “They’re frustrated with the president, but they’ve yet to hear a comprehensive alternative from the Republicans. All they heard so far is that we’re opposed to many of his policies. What they are hungry for is a positive agenda from the Republican side.”

( PHOTOS: Bobby Jindal’s career)

Judging by his appearance in downtown D.C., Jindal is already testing whether people are hungry for him to seek the White House. He appeared with former Sen. Jim Talent (R-Mo.) to argue for more robust defense spending — not exactly the usual province of an outgoing governor (Jindal’s term ends in 2015).

And after an hour of remarks and questions, Jindal answered questions from reporters for 30 more minutes on topics as diverse as gay marriage and Ebola. And despite prodding from the media, Jindal declined to hammer his party’s isolationist wing even as other potential Republican White House aspirants, such as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Texas Gov. Rick Perry have pointedly set their sights on the less interventionist Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky.

“I’ll define my views without defining other people. I’ll let other people speak for themselves. I think there is a proud, strong tradition within the Republican Party” on defense issues, Jindal said.

Jindal has also traveled to Iowa and New Hampshire recently as well as D.C., visits that seem to only add to the evidence that he is doing plenty to prepare for 2016 besides just “thinking and praying.” Asked whether his work with Jindal is an indication that Talent could be an early surrogate, the former senator and Heritage Foundation scholar cheekily replied that he hopes Jindal “seriously considers what he’s seriously considering.”

“He’s an incisive and insightful leader,” Talent said, noting that when it came to defense, Jindal “got this issue right away. And he got this despite the fact that he’s serving as a governor and, let’s face it, he’s not dealing with armed services issues all the time. So I think he’s great.”

According to a survey released last week by the left-leaning Public Policy Polling, a majority of Louisianans don’t want Jindal to run for president. But judging by the big crowd dotted with lobbyists and national media on Monday, there’s plenty of interest in Washington.