A National Journal Insiders Poll shows respondents favoring Mitt Romney for president in 2012 if John McCain doesn't win this year, with 55 percent of the vote.

However, when they polled conservative bloggers the results were much closer:

A survey of right-of-center bloggers was more divided; Romney won, but with a plurality of less than one-third, barely ahead of Palin and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. The mood toward Romney was summed up by one respondent: "Alas." A blogger who picked Jindal said, "I think the field would be quite wide-open in 2012, but the base will demand a 'fresh face,' someone with a record of accomplishment, and someone who's not identified as an old Washington hand."

In his New York Times column today, Bill Kristol makes his case why Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, 36, would make a good vice presidential pick for John McCain:

They’re tempted by the idea of picking someone so young, with real accomplishments and a strong reformist streak. It might also be a way to confront the issue of McCain’s age (71), which private polls and focus groups suggest could be a real problem. A Jindal pick would implicitly acknowledge the questions and raise the ante. The message would be: “You want generational change? You can get it with McCain-Jindal — without risking a liberal and inexperienced Obama as commander in chief.”

However, that assumes implicitly acknowledging McCain age "questions" is the best route for the presumptive Republican nominee. He seems to have had more success defying expectations about his age by running a vigorous campaign scheduling and regularly having his 96-year-old mother appear at campaign stops.
There are plenty of very good reasons to pick Jindal: his accomplishments, proven ability to win in a toss-up state in a bad electoral time for Republicans, solid conservative record and appeal to a growing minority segment of the population. But picking him primarily because his age stands in stark contrast to McCain's may not be a good choice at all.

The reaction from conservative bloggers to Kristol's column can be described as lukewarm at best. Blogger reactions after the jump...