The media is speculating (thanks to some innuendo or planned leaks no doubt) that John McCain will announce his running mate this week. Speculation is further fueled by recent visits with Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney, and even a planned visit to Louisiana, home of Governor Bobby Jindal. The speculation is great because it actually buys McCain a little airtime amongst the Barack Obama lovefest that has the media all hot and bothered. But if this rumor turns out to be true and an announcement is made this week, is it really good timing?

It all depends on who the choice is.

If McCain were to announce Mitt Romney, Giuliani or Governor Crist as his Veep… it would certainly be lost during the nightly news as the media won’t want to take airtime away from their Chosen One in order to celebrate just another white guy candidate from the Republican Party. Of course any of the above are more than “just another white guy candidate from the Republican Party” but that’s true for McCain too… yet the media honeymoon with him ended the moment they laid eyes upon their beloved Barack.

But, if McCain were to go with someone like Bobby Jindal… then the media might actually give it a second look. Jindal of course has accomplished MUCH MORE than Barack Obama even though he’s 10 years his junior. And Jindal is the real deal… actually taking action instead of just voting present. When Obama was writing books patting himself on the back or playing hooky from the Senate, Jindal was hard at work, earning the trust of support of Conservatives and the people of Louisiana.

Bobby Jindal’s youth and credentials are strong enough on their own, but his Indian decent also adds value in this year that seems to place symbolism well above substance. He’s not the picture of the Republican Party that the Liberal Media and the rest of the Left want you to see. And the symbolism of a Black Man running for President gets deluded a little when the GOP nominates a first generation American born to two Indian immigrants.

Of course the media will likely dismiss the ancestry and symbolism of a Republican candidate but maybe it will force them to take a hard look at their own Obama coverage. How can you dismiss the symbolism of one candidate but use that as the sole basis of your admiration for another? Of course that would entail applying logic to the decisions of the liberal press, and we all know that won’t happen. But as the media neglects their duties, maybe the American people won’t. Maybe forcing the symbolism of one ticket against the symbolism of another will cause the American people to reject the symbols of both and actually discover what’s underneath. We are however voting not for symbols, but the leader of the free world. Symbolism is nice but it doesn’t help you answer the phone at 3am or help you make the right decision when American lives are at stake.

The problem of course is once you peel away the symbolism of Barack Obama’s candidacy… you realize there’s nothing left. We are quite close to electing someone whose public experience includes a chain of gaffes and lapses of judgment with no real legislative record or accomplishments. The only thing left is an egomaniacal socialist who has written a couple books about himself, but done little to help anyone else.

And that provides stark contrast to a John McCain and Bobby Jindal ticket.

Once McCain picks his Veep selection, talk will surround Obama’s potential choice, which is also good for McCain. While political analysts and the media often look for VP nominees who are from states where the top of the ticket needs help… most water cooler discussion about Vice Presidential selection seems to be about whether a VP candidate fills the voids where a nominee is lacking. George W. Bush didn’t have much foreign policy experience and that void was immediately answered by giving the second spot to Cheney (debate that decision if you will, but that’s not the point of this post).

When you consider where McCain’s voids are, you immediately think of his age, economics, and whether he is conservative enough for the base. He’s got the legislative experience. He’s fiscally responsible. He’s fought earmarks for years. He’s got the military experience. He understands foreign policy, he’s known and respected on the world stage, and he was right on the surge. He’s an unquestionable patriot and certainly not afraid to take a stand even on unpopular positions.

Bobby Jindal adds youth and vigor, is certainly conservative enough (Rush Limbaugh thinks he’s basically the second coming of Ronald Reagan) and Jindal is working hard to improve the Louisiana economy while fighting corruption. Jindal also is a Catholic who converted from Hinduism when he was in High School and is unapologetically pro-life. The voids are filled and the ticket appears strong.

But what about Obama? Start looking for the gaps his V.P. needs to fill and you realize you can’t just fill gaps when there is nothing there in the first place. Other than being an inspiring speaker, there’s nothing left. And even if you could possibly find someone who fills all the gaps you have to wonder why the candidate has so many holes to begin with. Other than John Edwards, who could Barack Obama possibly tap that would be a serious V.P. candidate and not remind you that Obama has accomplished nothing, and has been wrong about virtually everything. Even if you are one of the Media Elite or the Brainwashed Lemmings… how do you not start to question why your candidate has proven nothing but how many people he can throw under the bus? How do you possibly select someone for second chair whose talent clearly outmatches your own? But when the alternative is someone else who doesn’t belong on the ticket in the first place, what choice do you have? No one will out charisma Obama. Bill Clinton couldn’t even do that. But these are serious times with an economy on the skids, gas prices at all time highs and war on two fronts. Charisma won’t get you very far and the VP selection will (hopefully) wake everyone up to that reality.

The only way to fight the symbolism of the Obama candidacy might be to counter with a symbol of our own. And while I regret to talk about Governor Jindal and his youth and ethnicity as symbols, I am comforted by the fact that in actuality he is so much more. If Governor Jindal is going to be McCain’s pick, I think an announcement now would be fine as it would take some attention from the ObamaThon World Tour and also show some contrast between a serious ticket and a farce. But if McCain picks some other white guy, accomplished or not, he better wait until Obama’s flying circus has landed safely back in the states. Otherwise the announcement, like everything else, will be lost amongst the media’s coverage of their beloved… the unaccomplished symbol of Obama.

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If you are looking for a real inspirational speech about change that is more than just symbolism, check out Governor Jindal’s inauguration speech.

UPDATE: According to a FoxNews report this morning, Governor Jindal has pulled his name out of the hat. That’s probably better (or safer) for his political aspirations in the future. Unfortunately, we need someone like Bobby Jindal on the ticket now.