Last week, in the middle of Mardi Gras, government overthrows and a financial market collapse, a governor from Louisiana who previously served in Congress announced that he formed an exploratory committee to run for president of the United States.

You might be thinking of current Gov. Bobby Jindal, who has often been rumored to be considering a run for president against Barack Obama in 2010. It is FORMER Gov. Buddy Roemer who has taken the major first step toward a presidential campaign.

The announcement was a minor blip on the public’s radar for a variety of reasons.

First, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich also announced the formation of an exploratory committee to run for president. Gingrich’s getting into the race is not a surprise to political pundits since he has been suggesting a run for months on every talk show he could get on. Gingrich’s getting into the race might have overshadowed Roemer’s announcement just a bit.

Second, a huge party, namely Mardi Gras, was being thrown in his own state, and it isn’t until today, Ash Wednesday, that most people will put down the beads and pick up a newspaper.

Also, the people of Louisiana were expecting a governor to run for president, just not this one. For over a year, they have heard that soon Bobby Jindal would be on the road from state to state shaking hands to curry favor with the national electorate.

Lastly, last week’s stock market tumble, spike in oil prices and further turmoil in the Middle East might have taken some steam from the former governor’s major announcement.

However, upon reviewing Roemer’s website, www.buddyroemer.com, you will find that his major platform at this time is that he is “Free to Lead.” The site is simple at the moment but does go into defining what he means by “Free to Lead.”

Basically, our former governor is saying America needs a leader who doesn’t “owe” anyone and can make decisions in the best interest of our nation. Nice thought but almost impossible considering the staggering cost to run an effective campaign for president. Hundreds of millions are needed to reach the people from sea to shining sea and.

It will be interesting to watch if Louisiana will have two governors running for president. I guess we are doubling down in the hopes that one will make it to the White House. In the meantime, look for an interesting ramp up for the campaign of former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer.

Either way, “Buddy for President” has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?

The last bite…

Anyone who missed the DuMonde Ball this past weekend held at the Pontchartrain Center missed a great event. Nearly 1,000 people trekked across the Bonnet Carre Spillway to attend and enjoyed mediocre music, endless food and non-stop drinks. The food stretched along the entire length of a ballroom wall! So…I tried it all. The menu ranged from pulled pork, a potato bar, gumbo, ettouffee, coconut shrimp and much more. My favorite was the bbq pulled pork. I give the entire event 4.5 crumbs! (out of 5)

Buddy Boe, a resident of LaPlace, is a former parish administrator and is well known on the local political (and food) scenes. His column appears every Wednesday in L’Observateur.