What is more impressive is his meteroric rise. He started out as a state political appointee and then federal political appointee. He then lost a race for Governor, won a special election to Congress a year later, was elected president of the freshmen Congressional class, before running again and winning election as Governor; all in the span of four years.
His inaugural speech delivered a message of hope and change and included a peek into Louisiana political culture:
We come to the steps of this historic Capitol today to celebrate not just an election, but a new beginning.
We are here not for one man to take an oath, but for one people to make commitments to each other.
We are here not to inaugurate one administration opposite from those before, but to set forth together -- all of us -- toward a new era.
For reasons none of us can understand or fully appreciate, history has placed all of us every living Louisianian, those within her borders and without in a position previous generations could only envy.
Under the spotlight of the world, with generosity from many and a clear call to common purpose, we have the opportunity to make lasting and positive change.
We have the opportunity to make this change not over the course of decades, but in short order.
We have the opportunity to affect not just our own children's lives, but the lives of Louisiana children yet to be born.
We have the opportunity -- born of tragedy but embraced still the same -- to make right decades of failure in government.
You have often heard me say that we do not have a poor state, but a state with poor leadership. That we do not have a state stuck in the past, but leaders who were unconcerned with the future.
If we are honest with ourselves, we can all agree that too many of the stereotypes rang true.
In our past, too many politicians looked out for themselves. Too many arms of state and local government did not get results. And the world took note.
Those stereotypes cost us credibility. They cost us investment. They cost us jobs.
Let us all resolve, Democrats and Republicans, North Louisiana and South, leaders of all races and religions, elected and unelected, let us all resolve that era ends today.
We can build a Louisiana where our leaders and our people set the highest standards and hold every member of our government accountable.
A Louisiana where incompetence is not a synonym for government.
A Louisiana where corruption does not hold us back.
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