The Associated Press



BATON ROUGE - The two candidates for Louisiana governor agree on a lot of issues, but abortion isn't one of them.

Republican Bobby Jindal and Democrat Lt. Gov. Kathleen Blanco are Catholic and pro-life.

But while Blanco thinks abortions should be allowed in cases of rape, incest and to save the life of the mother, Jindal does not favor abortions under any circumstances.

Both favor the ban on late-term or so-called "partial birth" abortions that Congress recently approved and President George W. Bush plans to sign into law.

Neither Jindal nor Blanco has many plans for abortion legislation.

Jindal said the federal courts have made it clear that most abortion battles are likely to be resolved on the federal level, not with state laws. He said he would like to decrease the numbers of abortions but said there are limits to what the state Legislature and the governor can do in that area.

"I'm not interested in pointless legal fights that spend a lot of money."

In the past, the Legislature has passed several anti-abortion laws that eventually were struck down by federal courts and never took effect.

"As governor, the only two things that we would need to do is, one, promote adoption, and two, to make sure we regulate abortion providers the way we're regulating other medical providers," Jindal added.

Blanco said Louisiana has done more than its share in challenging abortion issues and should let the battle occur in the federal arena.

On another social issue, both also question the need for a law to ban discrimination in the workplace against homosexuals. Blanco and Jindal say they oppose discrimination against anyone but don't think a new law is needed to protect gays and lesbians.

Both consider themselves to be defenders of the right to bear firearms and are highly rated by the National Rifle Association. But there is a major difference between the candidates - Blanco has a hunting license, Jindal does not.

Both candidates said they would maintain the system of concealed-weapons permits established by Gov. Mike Foster.

Group alleges Jindal ignored its invitations

A political group for gays said Bobby Jindal's campaign has brushed off repeated attempts to set up a 30-minute meeting to talk about economic development, bigotry and corruption.

Democrat Kathleen Blanco did meet with the Louisiana League for Equality, Chairman Joe Traigle said Monday.

Traigle said his group has three points to make. Two are related: that the state's economy has stagnated for 30 years and that the many reasons for this include an executive's reluctance to move to a state with Louisiana's long record of intolerance. The third, he said, is that, as taxpayers, the group's members are tired of the state's long history of political corruption and want to see change.

Blanco said image and tax structure are among a large number of things which the next governor must deal with to improve the economy. She agreed that discrimination should not be tolerated, Traigle said.

But both candidates have said while they oppose discrimination, they don't believe a new law is needed to protect homosexuals from discrimination.

At a stop in Lafayette, Jindal said he is entirely for equal rights and the Louisiana League for Equality is among dozens, even hundreds, of special interest groups he hasn't had time to meet with.

It's unclear whether Blanco will use air time

Gov. Mike Foster has offered the microphone of his weekly radio show to both gubernatorial candidates for a Nov. 6 debate. It's unclear whether Democrat Kathleen Blanco will use the air time.

Blanco, the state's lieutenant governor, told the Press Club of Baton Rouge on Monday she's willing to go on Live Mike to debate Republican Bobby Jindal, who already has agreed to participate. "I'll be happy to appear on the radio show," she said.

That was news to Foster's staff, who had yet to hear from Blanco about the show. "We're delighted," Foster spokeswoman Marsanne Golsby said.

But then approached after the luncheon, Blanco said the live radio show hadn't been put on her schedule yet. She said her plans were a work in progress but she hoped to be able to participate in the Live Mike debate.

"It's something I want to do," she said.

Stay tuned.

Abbreviated Jindal blueprint available

Anyone looking for a sort-of Cliff's Notes version of Bobby Jindal's position papers, which cover six chapters and more than 70 pages, can see an overview on the Republican candidate's Web site.

The 20-page plan includes summaries of his positions on six topics including economic development, education, health care, coastal restoration, faith and values and governmental ethics.

Jindal spokesman Trey Williams said the Jindal Blueprint for Louisiana will be sent to Jindal's campaign headquarters throughout Louisiana for supporters to pick up and can be downloaded from www.bobbyjindal.com. No mass mailing of the document is scheduled, he said.

State police guarding gubernatorial hopefuls

Both remaining candidates in the gubernatorial race now are protected by state police.

The security detail for Democrat Lt. Gov. Kathleen Blanco was beefed up after the primary. As lieutenant governor, she had a one-trooper detail during the primary race leading up to Oct. 4.

A team of troopers joined Republican Bobby Jindal's campaign when he earned a spot in the Nov. 15 runoff, said state police spokesman Lt. William Davis. "This is normal for candidates in the runoff. This has been done forever and a day. One of these people will be our next governor."

Kyle to require training in public speaking

If Dan Kyle wins the Nov. 15 runoff for state insurance commissioner, he will require key agency staff to participate in Toastmasters International or a similar public speaking program just as he did for staff of the state legislative auditor's office.

The Republican candidate, who is running against Democratic incumbent Robert Wooley, created a stir with the Toastmasters policy during his 13 years heading the watchdog bureau, which employs about 200 people.

Several state lawmakers disapproved of the policy when they interviewed candidates in the spring to replace Kyle as auditor.

Kyle said an auditing staff with little experience in public speaking was being called upon to make presentations to agencies and legislative committees. A public speaking program was needed, he said, but an outside consultant would have been expensive.

"Therefore, the Toastmasters program was run in house in order to save the taxpayers money and to better train the public servants that work for them," Kyle said last week.

As for the Insurance Department, Kyle said, "I will expect those employees who will publicly represent the department, the state of Louisiana and its taxpayers to participate in Toastmasters or a similar public-speaking program."