The First Lady of 2012?

Jonathan Ernst / Reuters Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal took a pummeling for his national debut, but his wife, Supriya, is still one of the party’s hottest rising stars. Meghan McCain talks to her about their marriage, her reaction to the negative press on the speech, and why her husband converted to Christianity. Plus, why the GOP needs to stop focusing on its next leader and how Bobby delivered one of their kids in the bathroom.

In the last few weeks, I’ve been writing about figures in the GOP that I do not think positively represent the party. But I am also consistently asked about women I do think are positive role models within the Republican Party—and my mind always seems to jump to Supriya Jindal, wife of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. At 37, Bobby Jindal is the youngest governor in the US and Supriya, who is also 37, is the youngest first lady. She was born in India—her mother was a stay-at-home mom, her father an engineer—and moved to Baton Rouge when she was four years old. She worked in a chemical plant in Louisiana while earning her MBA from Tulane. She married Bobby in 1997. Unfortunately, Bobby’s recent response to President Obama’s national address received mixed reviews, putting the governor and his wife in the media spotlight.

“[Bobby] knew I had moved to New Orleans, so he tracked me down and left me the funniest message on my machine,” Supriya Jindal said. “You know, the questions were, ‘If you’re not married, call me back.’”

Last summer, I met Surpriya when the Jindals came to my family’s cabin in Sedona, Arizona. It was a meeting much talked about in the media, in part because other high-profile politicians from the Republican Party were also present. I’ve been around politicians my entire life and immediately the Jindals, and more specifically Mrs. Jindal, stood out to me. I was nervous and uncomfortable with the meeting (there were media vans parked directly outside our cabin and the whispers that my father had not yet chosen a running mate lingered in the air), so I just assumed some of the guests were as well. But unlike the usual guarded presence one often gets with the wife of a governor, Mrs. Jindal was warm, friendly, and humorous. She arrived wearing casual pants and a fleece. I took a liking to her instantly.

Not much has been reported about Mrs. Jindal, so I traveled down to Baton Rouge to interview the woman I met in Sedona. Although politically Mrs. Jindal and I may have our differences, I found a woman who is open-minded and realistic about the future of the GOP. For so many reasons, she and her husband represent the American dream—and I wouldn’t be surprised if they just might represent the future of our party.

What is your favorite part about being the first lady of Louisiana?

I never envisioned myself in any form, shape, or way in politics. When I first met Bobby, he was working for the governor of Louisiana and I always thought he was going to go back in the private sector. And lo and behold, one thing led to another and he was running for governor and it has just been this amazing thing. For me knowing how he can help move our state forward is what really got me excited. I always tease him that I never wanted to do this. But he is touching so many lives and making a difference all across the state and that is the most amazing part about what he is doing for me as an outsider.

To be able to travel across the state and meet so many amazing people has been the best part. One thing that I have discovered going on the campaign trail is that it doesn’t matter what kind of an education you have, how big your house is, or what kind of car you drive or what color you are, what party you belong to, what religion you are. None of that matters. At the end of the day, everyone wants the same thing for their families and their children. They all want a better life for their children. We have all these labels and things, but we are all working toward the same goal: We all want a better life for our family than we have for ourselves.

Do you have a least-favorite part?

Oh, wow. It’s exciting, it’s tiring, it’s hectic, it’s crazy. I think the hardest part is that Bobby misses out on time with our family. He does the bedtime stories and rituals and all these things to make sure he has quality time with them, but he misses out on a lot of the day-to-day. There is a lot of meaning in the everyday sometimes. I think I feel bad about that for him because I think he misses it.

How are your children dealing with the increased media spotlight and pressure?

You know, our kids are so young, they don’t understand it very much.

And you?

It’s going OK. It’s a little crazy sometimes because it is not something I ever imagined doing or being a part of in any way. It’s something that has taken a little adjustment to, but the wonderful thing is that people have been so nice and wonderful. I have had such a great experience I can’t really point on anything negative because there is so much positive.

Your background is really fascinating to me because you are so educated. Why chemical engineering?

[Mrs. Jindal looks over at Gov. Jindal’s communications director] She freaked out at me one day because she saw me doing a Sudoku Samurai.

Oh my gosh those are so hard! I can barely add! You do those for fun?

I’ve always been drawn to math and science, even as a child. Growing up, my dad was an engineer and some of my uncles were engineers. So when it came to college, I thought, I will give this engineering thing a try. I always wanted to go to law school and be a patent attorney or a corporate attorney. Once I got into it, I decided to work for a while and just loved it. When I reconnected with Bobby, I was wearing a hard hat and steel-toed shoes and I was climbing vessels every day and working strange shift hours and nights. I had an odd schedule, but I loved it and had such a wonderful time doing it. I went on to get a business degree.