Politics getting into high gear - - everywhere

Politics is in the air everywhere, it seems. And that includes Washington, Baton Rouge and St. Charles Parish.

The jobs at stake in D. C. won’t start for almost two years but one would never guess it. Several serious candidates have announced and are spending full time in campaigning.

Many believe the Democrats have the upper hand for president and vice-president right now with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in the lead. If they unified into one ticket, they would be hard to beat.

But don’t tell that to Rudy Giulliani or John McCain. They expect to walk into the White House when the time comes.

Many Senate and House seats will be at stake and, of course, the all-important control of Congress will be at hand. The federal elections could well determine whether or not tax reductions will be continued, how we handle health care and how we take care of problems in the Mid-East and elsewhere in the world.

On the state level, two candidates have emerged into leaders for governor. Republican Cong. Bobby Jindal who almost walked into the office last time probably will face former Democratic senator John Breaux unless he is ruled to be a non-citizen since he does not live or vote in Louisiana anymore. Chances are that Breaux will get the break he needs since Democrats will probably be calling the shots. There will also be races for lesser statewide offices and seats in the Legislature.

On the local scene, three strong candidates for parish president are campaigning. Chris Tregre, who held the office before, Councilman Snookie Faucheux and former Councilman V. J. St. Pierre are in the race. It looks like a nail-biter. There is also plenty of competition for councilmen.

Get ready to hear more and more campaign chatter and shake a lot more hands. Tis the political season - - for the next two years.