Q. New face of Republican Party?

A. Too much focus on the messenger and not enough on the message. The Republican Party needs to do two things: One, we need to stop worrying about the Republican Party and start worrying about our country. Second, we need to stop worrying about the messenger and start worrying about substance. We will deserve to be a majority party again when we show the American people we are competent, we truly believe the principles we espouse and we've got relevant solutions to the things they care about, whether it's the economy, health care, international terrorism. There's fascination with who is going to be the torchbearer. I think there should be multiple voices, including the governors. In the '90s when Clinton was elected with Democrats in control of Congress, Republican governors led the way. In Wisconsin, it was welfare reform. The way you genuinely help people is to help them go back to work and become self-sufficient. If you're getting help (from government) you should go to sc hool, go to work during the week.

We showed (in welfare reform) that our conservative principles work. Voters looked at that and said these aren't the same old ideas. They're not talking about spending more money and getting the same results.

Q. Some moderate Republicans like Colin Powell suggest Republicans need to abandon social issues like abortion and same-sex marriage because it's hurting the party. What do you think?

A. Two things. The country didn't stop being conservative; the Republican Party stopped being conservative. It's a mistake to say being conservative causes you to lose elections. We haven't tried that recently. We need to go back to our roots. American voters reward authenticity. They're not going to agree 100 percent with every candidate. What voters are looking for are candidates who are honest and tell them what they truly believe, stick to those beliefs. On the core conservative issues -- I don't think a majority of those who voted for Obama necessarily agreed with him on abortion or marriage.

I don't believe the way to win elections is to abandon our beliefs. We've got to stand for something. I'm pro-life and fiscally conservative. You look at how Reagan got conservative Democrats. I'm sure there were people who voted for Reagan who didn't necessarily agree with everything he espoused, but they respected him for being principled and not having to read a poll to learn what he believed.

Q. Why has the party had so much difficulty attracting people of color?

A. A lot was made in this election about identity politics: first female president, first African-American president. That's not how voters think. They want to elect someone who is going to do a great job. The only colors that matter should be red, white and blue. When it comes to Republicans, we should respect the voters' intelligence. We shouldn't gauge what we think they want to hear and then tell them that. Instead, we should go and engage people where they are and tell them what we stand for. We won 60 out of 64 parishes in a state where the Republican Party is not the majority party. We did it with thousands of Democratic votes. The way we did it is that when we talked to voters -- I didn't stop being a conservative Republican -- I told them how I thought my beliefs, my platform could help them. I can't tell you how many came up to me and said, 'you're the first Republican I ever voted for.'

Q. Favor school choice?

A. Passed a school choice measure in the legislature and I signed it, allowing students in New Orleans to attend the school of their choice, even in neighboring jurisdictions. Demand was great.

Q. Faith?

A. I read Rick Warren's book "The Purpose Driven Life" right after I lost my first election in 2003 and one of the main lessons I got out of that was keeping the eternal perspective. If we truly believe what we read in the Bible and hear in our churches there are a lot of things we worry about in life that aren't that important from an eternal perspective. There are things more important than winning the next election (NOTE: Jindal's next election is in 2011, and he says he's running.) You realize you're not indispensable. The world can continue whether you are in or out of office, whether your party is in the majority or not. At the end of the day, we are not in control of everything. If you don't have that perspective, it can mean elected officials taking shortcuts to an end that justified the means.

If you don't have that perspective you can say it's OK to attack another person's character and engage in mudslinging. In 2003 we were criticized for refusing to go negative. I was asked 'you obviously regret that choice.' Absolutely not. How do you go home and tell your children, 'Don't worry about what Daddy is doing, just listen to what I say.' But if we really believe from this eternal perspective that there are things more important than winning the next election or having money ... it really doesn't matter whose name is on the statue (because) that has no lasting meaning. This perspective should change the way you conduct yourself, whether it's politics, or business. And it should. None of us is perfect, but you have to strive toward that.

Second, viewing the sanctity of life, I believe the reason people are valuable is that they are created in the image of God and there's a dignity there. And that leads me to believe people should have access to health care, not because of policy reasons, but because they're valuable because we are created by God in His image.