At SRLC: Jindal rules out 2012 bid; Palin defends ‘reload’

NEW ORLEANS (AP) —

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal welcomed several potential Republican presidential candidates to his state while insisting that he won’t be joining them in the 2012 race.

Addressing the Southern Republican Leadership Conference on Friday afternoon, Jindal said, “I am not running for president of the United States. I’ve got the job I want.”

Jindal is a first-term governor whose term expires in 2012. Party leaders say he could end up on the GOP presidential ticket that year.

The leadership conference Jindal is hosting has drawn several potential presidential candidates, including Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich.

In her turn in front of the podium, former vice presidential candidate Palin said her “Don’t retreat — reload” slogan is a call for political activism, not violence.

She accused the media of twisting her words and tarnishing the reputation of the tea party movement, telling Republicans on Friday, “Don’t retreat — reload, and that’s not a call for violence.”

Palin noted that critics have questioned why she’d use such language while some Democratic lawmakers face threats of violence over their support of health care overhaul legislation.

Palin added, “No one is calling for such a thing.”