Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) traveled Friday to Iowa, “a state that is pivotal to a presidential campaign, in a trip that has heightened speculation that [he] is planning a presidential bid in 2012.” Jindal tamped down the speculation, stating, “I’m not running for president.” The highlight of Jindal’s visit will be tonight’s keynote address at a “Celebrating the Family” banquet hosted by the Iowa Family Policy Center, a conservative Christian group that promotes issues important to social conservatives such as home-schooling and opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage:
The center is a nonprofit organization that says it is dedicated to family values. The center’s president, Chuck Hurley, backed former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in the recent presidential race. Hurley’s ties to religious conservatives are credited with helping Huckabee win the Iowa caucus in January.
“I think the American people are tired of campaigns. They’ve had enough. We haven’t even sworn in our next president,” Jindal said.
Update
In his speech, Jindal suggested he would be a culture warrior. “I worry about the coarsening of our culture,” he said. “That doesn’t mean I want government to censor culture, but certainly there are things we can do as private citizens working together to strengthen our society.”
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