Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal had frequently been mentioned as a possible running mate for John McCain. Almost as frequently, one of the things mentioned about him was that he might make for a good matchup against Barack Obama. I've even seen a fair amount of overly reductive analysis suggesting that Jindal could be the Republicans' own version of Obama. (They're both young, they've both excited people, and they're both nonwhite. You see how it works?)

But Jindal has now taken himself out of the running for the Republican ticket; Wednesday, he gave what's known in the business as a "Shermanesque" statement. Appearing on Fox News' "Fox and Friends," Jindal said, "Let me be clear: I have said in every private and public conversation, I've got the job that I want. And I'll say again on air: I'm not going to be the vice presidential nominee or vice president. I'm going to help Senator McCain get elected, as governor of Louisiana."