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SALT LAKE CITY -- Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal appeared with Gov. Herbert in a special meeting of top energy brass in Utah.
The idea was to outline goals for the future---goals that include electing Mitt Romney for President, and re-electing Herbert for Governor.
It's the time when legitimate issues become campaign issues, and energy is a big one right now. It was an obvious promotional appearance from Gov. Bobby Jindal for both Mitt Romney and Gov. Gary Herbert.
The substance of the visit to Questar's new downtown headquarters building was energy. Both Jindal and Herbert blasted Pres. Obama for hindering the energy industry through administration regulations over drilling and mining development.
With gas prices hovering around $4 a gallon nationwide, energy has the potential to be a huge campaign issue in the race for the White House.
In spite of people's expense at the pump, under the Obama administration, the energy information agency reports oil and gas drilling has gone up 13 percent since President Obama took office. At the same time, the agency reports that dependence on foreign oil has dropped.
Many in the natural gas industry praised recent changes in oversight over operation, consolidating to free up resources. But the Republicans answer is that the growth happened in spite of the administration, not because of anything it did.
Gov. Jindall said, "We're seeing a hostile regulatory environment that is harming domestic development. Yes, we're producing more energy than before, but a lot of that is because of decisions that were made before President Obama was elected."
Jindal, a rising star in the GOP, indicated his loyalty to Romney will be as a running-mate.
"Look, I've got the job that I want. I want to be governor. I was just re-elected to my second term. We've got more work to do in Louisiana," he said.
Energy may be a legitimate issue, but it will come down to voters to research which candidate's philosophy--and results--are really what they like.
