The Louisiana wunderkind: beholding Rep. Bobby Jindal.

'WHEN my dad sat you down and said that you had 'a lot of potential'--that was not a good speech," says Rep. Bobby Jindal, a Louisiana Republican. "It meant that you weren't working hard enough."

It's difficult to imagine anybody accusing Jindal of not working hard enough. His life story so far--he's 35--is a tale of potential realized. The son of immigrant parents from India, Jindal went to Brown and earned a Rhodes scholarship. At the age of 24, he became the head of Louisiana's Health and Hospitals Department. At 26, he ran a national commission on Medicare. At 28, he became president of the University of Louisiana system. Jindal also served as an assistant secretary of health and human services in the Bush administration and, in 2004, was elected to Congress. He was reelected last year.

Is that good enough, Father Jindal?

The only blemish on this GOP whiz kid's resume came in 2003, when he ran for governor of his home state and lost by four points to Democrat Kathleen Blanco. Then came Hurricane Katrina, which laid waste not only to New Orleans but also to Blanco's reputation as a leader. On March 20, she announced that she would not seek reelection.

Today, Jindal is the most popular politician in Louisiana--and he's a strong favorite to win the votes for Blanco's vacated seat from an electorate that's experiencing a profound case of buyer's remorse. An April poll gave him a favorability ...