John Maginnis is a writer of columns and commentaries on current political events in Louisiana. His column, always about the latest political event in Louisiana, appears in newspapers and other sources around the state. His web site is read by political analysts nationwide as a barometer of governmental trends and events in Louisiana. Maginnis has been interviewed by Robert Siegel

Robert Siegel

Robert Siegel is an American radio journalist best known as host of the National Public Radio evening news broadcast All Things Considered.-Career:...

 on National Public Radio (NPR) concerning Louisiana political trends, and he was Andrea Seabrook

Andrea Seabrook

Andrea Seabrook is an American radio reporter for NPR. She began hosting weekend broadcasts of that organization's signature news magazine All Things Considered on September 29, 2007, after six years of primarily reporting on the United States Congress for the same outlet...

's main source of commentary when NPR analyzed the 2008 December 6 upset of Louisiana Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 William J. Jefferson

William J. Jefferson

William Jennings "Bill" Jefferson is a former American politician, and a published author from the U.S. state of Louisiana. He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for nine terms from 1991 to 2009 as a member of the Democratic Party. He represented , which includes much of the...

 by Republican newcomer Anh "Joseph" Cao

Joseph Cao

Anh "Joseph" Quang Cao is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2009 until 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party. In April 2011, he announced he will be a candidate for Attorney General of Louisiana in 2011, however in September 2011 he pulled out of the race.He was the first...

 in Louisiana's 2nd congressional district

Louisiana's 2nd congressional district

Louisiana's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The district contains nearly all of the city of New Orleans , and some of its suburbs, including the West Bank portion of Jefferson Parish and South South Kenner.The district is currently represented...

.

Maginnis has been covering Louisiana political events since 1972. He has written two books: The Last Hayride (1984) concerned the rise of Edwin Edwards

Edwin Edwards

Edwin Washington Edwards served as the Governor of Louisiana for four terms , twice as many terms as any other Louisiana chief executive has served. Edwards was also Louisiana's first Roman Catholic governor in the 20th century...

 to a then-unprecedented third term as Governor

Governor

A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...

 by defeating Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 David Treen in 1983; and Cross to Bear (1992) narrated the controversial general election of 1991 when Edwards, thought to be politically finished, re-entered the governorship for a fourth term by coming up as the remaining alternative to David Duke

David Duke

David Ernest Duke is a former Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan an American activist and writer, and former Republican Louisiana State Representative. He was also a former candidate in the Republican presidential primaries in 1992, and in the Democratic presidential primaries in...

.

In 2008 Maginnis began touting Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal

Bobby Jindal

Piyush "Bobby" Jindal is the 55th and current Governor of Louisiana and formerly a member of the United States House of Representatives. He is a member of the Republican Party....

 as a potential Republican contender for President

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 or Vice President of the United States

Vice President of the United States

The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...

, while also questioning whether Jindal's potential for those offices was taking Jindal away too frequently from state duties in Louisiana. Maginnis particularly observed Jindal's lack of enthusiasm for the Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

 administration's economic "stimulus package"

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, abbreviated ARRA and commonly referred to as the Stimulus or The Recovery Act, is an economic stimulus package enacted by the 111th United States Congress in February 2009 and signed into law on February 17, 2009, by President Barack Obama.To...

 prior to Jindal's speaking to the nation as the Republicans' chosen responder to Obama's first address to Congress

United States Congress

The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

on 2009 February 24.