The biggest round of applause from an audience of about 600 at a gathering of Christian conservatives in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, on Thursday night was awarded to Gov. Bobby Jindal, The Des Moines Register reports.
Jindal was among four Republicans on a quest for support for a presidential bid spoke at the Family Leader’s regional summit. Others included Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania.
Jindal, who has made numerous visits to Iowa in recent years, reportedly got a standing ovation when he took the stage and another big one at his close—the most enthusiastic response of the night.
“When (President Barack Obama) talks about the American dream, it’s not an American dream that I recognize. He talks about redistribution. He talks about a larger, more intrusive, more expensive federal government,” Jindal said. “Growing up in Baton Rouge, I heard about an America where the circumstances of your birth don’t determine your outcome.”
Jindal went on to say that he wants a president who is “not worried about what The New York Times says about him. I want a president who doesn’t care if the popular culture in D.C., if the cocktail circuit doesn’t like him.”
While Perry, Huckabee and Santorum all reportedly received standing ovations as they took the stage for their addresses, none received a full standing ovation as they exited the stage. Huckabee left about half the crowd standing in applause as he exited, and Santorum also reportedly left many standing.
