He is a convert from Hinduism to Catholicism, but often sounds more like an Evangelical Protestant. He presents himself as a populist, but he is attempting to shift his state's tax burden onto the poor and middle classes. He is an Ivy Leaguer who attended Brown University on a Rhodes scholarship, but he claims that universities are "modern centers of higher learning [that] are much more secular and skeptical toward anything remotely religious."

Nevertheless, he is a prominent part of the changing of the guard within both the GOP and the Religious Right. Theocons Charles Colson and John Neuhas have passed on. Karl Rove and Sarah Palin have been dismissed from Fox News. Rick Santorum may appeal to both conservative Catholics and Evangelicals, but only among middle-aged Whites and is prone to unattractive snarling. Their places are gradually being taken by New Jersey governor Chris Christie, U.S. Senator and Floridian Marco Rubio, Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan and of course, Jindal.

All these Young Turks have their strengths and weaknesses. With the possible exception of Christie (who believes in global warming), they are all full-blown social movement conservatives, ironically marrying a form of Ayn Rand economics to their Christianity. Still Rubio's immigration tale may not play well in a rough and tumble election while Ryan's credibility took some hits while serving as Romney's running-mate.  

Jindal has some strengths going into 2016, including a 100% voting rating the National Right to Life Committee while being opposed to embryonic stem cell research. At 41 he is young, more reliably social conservative than Mitt Romney and is a person of color when the GOP seems to need one.

But the paradoxical Jindal may not wear well.

In June 2008 as governor he signed into law The Louisiana Science Education Act which allows for the teaching of creationism in the public schools of his state. This is odd for someone who claims to strictly adhere to Catholicism. The Vatican, after all, is on record strongly acknowledging evolution while practically dismissing creationism.  Catholic Update  reported in 2007:

It is worth noting that in all of the major court challenges to creationism, Roman Catholic scholars-biblical specialists, theologians and scientists- have been witnesses against creationism and the fundamentalist understanding of intelligent design.

But more important than being at odds with church doctrine is the chilling effect it has on religious freedom. Creationism is not science but the religious teaching of one narrow sector of Christianity.   Is it that Jindal is trying to cement his credentials as a neoconservative Neuhaus-type Catholic who appeals to theocratic Evangelicals? Or is it possible that he is a convert in the mode of Scott Hahn, a former Presbyterian turned Opus Dei Catholic who habitually mentions evolution and atheism in the same breathe and has written, "Whatever the merits of evolutionary theory in general - and they are significant and therefore need to be carefully considered by Catholics - the effect on morality is devastating."

It is hard to know where Jindal really stands.

Consider his 2008 appearance on CBS's Face The Nation.  When asked whether he believed in evolution, he never truly answered the question. He calmly straddled the fence so as to avoid offending fundamentalists but avoiding criticizing Darwin's theory. While he may (or may not) quietly believe in evolution, he is still willing to let one specific religious view to be taught under the guise of science. Perhaps this muddled messaging is what Jindal means by not being "the party of stupid."

Jindal seems to be repackaging the same social conservative movement messages while using faith to advance a regressive economic agenda.  But he is much smoother than the crusty older guard. We see this in his plan to replace Louisiana's progressive income tax with a regressive sales tax. He knows that the average citizen sees paying income taxes annually in thousands of dollars, but may experience sales taxes in smaller bites without seeing the dollars add up.  Jindal is the master of this illusion. He is masking a tax cut for corporations and wealthy individuals while actually raising taxes on the lower 80%.

It is Jindal's ability to sell this magic with a smile that may let him overcome the paradoxes that block his path to the White House.

Abracadabra.