Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) said Monday that Republicans already thinking about the 2016 presidential race need "to get their head examined" because the party is just beginning to recalibrate its messaging in the aftermath of President Obama's reelection.
"Anybody on the Republican side even thinking or talking about running for president in 2016, I've said, needs to get their head examined," Jindal told "Fox and Friends." "And the reason I say that is, we've lost two presidential elections in a row, we need to be winning the debate of ideas, then we'll win elections."
Jindal, considered an early front-runner for the Republican nomination, said that the party's struggles despite polling showing a desire for smaller government was evidence that a reboot was necessary.
"We're not winning the conversation, we're not presenting our ideas, we're not in that debate as well as we should be," Jindal said.
The popular governor, who was reelected last year, also said the nation was likely fatigued with presidential politics.
"The country doesn't need four years of non-stop presidential — we just inaugurated a new term of this president's second term," Jindal said.
Jindal will be barred by law from seeking a third consecutive term as Louisiana governor when his current tenure concludes in 2015. And while Jindal is protesting against early presidential speculation, he also seems to be positioning himself for a run. Jindal will become chairman of the Republican Governor's Association next year, a high-profile job that will bring him to key fundraising and primary states. He also stumped in Iowa repeatedly for Mitt Romney during the presidential campaign and returned later in the fall, traveling with former presidential candidate Rick Santorum on a bus tour targeting an Iowa Supreme Court judge who supports same-sex marriage.
