Sarah Palin seemingly came out of nowhere to become John McCain’s running mate, and the talk of the Republican Party. What other rising stars are out there in the GOP firmament? Four AP reporters offer their take on Republicans with a future _ or not.

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GOV WITH PROMISE

Keep your eye on first-term Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, most certainly a Republican rising star.

At age 37, he’s the nation’s youngest sitting governor and took office in January after serving just three years in Congress.

He’s also the country’s first elected Indian-American governor, and the emerging face of a party always trying hard to be seen as more diverse.

Jindal was talked about as a potential running mate for John McCain _ both are conservatives bearing a message of reform _ but his age was a drawback. Look for him to be on vice presidential short lists in coming presidential election years.

The governor burst onto the national stage in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, publicly lobbying Congress for more aid for storm victims.

All eyes are on him this week in what is his first big test as governor. With Hurricane Gustav bearing down on New Orleans, how Jindal handles it could well affect his political future.

His predecessor, Democrat Kathleen Blanco, was intensely criticized for her performance after Katrina.

_By Liz Sidoti

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WICKED SMART

Two women who emerged as close advisers to John McCain have futures in the party. Carly Fiorina, the former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard, and Meg Whitman, the ex-CEO of eBay, may not run for office but are seen as bright lights in a party eager to at least lay a rope bridge over the gender gap of politics.

McCain has called Whitman one of the “three wisest” people he knows _ the others are Gen. David Petraeus and former civil rights leader and Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga. Initially, Whitman supported Mitt Romney for president and was on his finance team, but now she is a co-chair of McCain’s campaign. Fiorina, who was forced out as Hewlett-Packard CEO, is chairman of the Republican National Committee’s Victory ‘08 campaign.

Both were scheduled to speak Wednesday at the Republican National Convention.

They are considered wicked smart, have Silicon Valley executive experience, and were mentioned as potential running mates for McCain. Of course, a McCain victory would go far to burnish their political images.

_By Jim Kuhnhenn

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ROUND TWO FOR ROMNEY?

Mitt Romney’s work on behalf of John McCain prompted speculation the two would end up together on this year’s Republican presidential ticket.

Now that McCain has picked Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, Romney is returning his gaze to the job he sought from the start: the presidency.

Friends and advisers say the former Massachusetts governor is primed _ even anxious _ to mount a second bid for the White House in 2012 if the McCain-Palin ticket loses this fall.

Romney hopes the $20 million he raised and endless surrogate work he did on behalf of McCain will ingratiate himself with the GOP base by showing he’s not a sore loser.

He’s established the Free and Strong America PAC, a political action committee that will allow him to travel the country and sprinkle donations on like-minded political candidates.

And he believes the passage of time will only diminish the impact of his past policy flip-flops, while underscoring his commitment to the conservative Republican economic and social agendas.

His work shows Romney isn’t hoping for a McCain defeat on Nov. 4. But if it were to occur, it also shows he’ll be ready to step into the breach on Nov. 5.

_By Glen Johnson

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REPUBLICAN RERUNS

New faces and new candidates will emerge to compete for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012 should John McCain be defeated in November. But the GOP does not have a long roster of likely stars in waiting. Some of the men McCain defeated this time surely would be back.

Mitt Romney already is positioning himself to try again if the nomination is open. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee went from nobody to last man standing against McCain this time, and he could well be back.

In other campaigns, the vice presidential nominee on the losing ticket would be a likely contender next time, but that wouldn’t be easy for Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, McCain’s running mate. The questions of experience and qualifications critics are raising now would be far more intense were she running on her own.

First-time candidates who don’t make it often come back for a rerun. Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas could be in that category. Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor and keynoter at the Republican convention, peaked and plunged early in the 2008 going, not a promising past for a second try.

There are 23 Republican governors; the biggest name among them can’t run. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, of Austrian birth, doesn’t meet the constitutional requirement that presidents be natural born.

Governors _ including Charlie Crist of Florida, Mark Sanford of South Carolina, Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota and Haley Barbour of Mississippi _ were on the guess lists for vice president this time, and some among them might try.

Then there are McCain loyalists like Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. And there’s almost always Newt Gingrich, now 65, the former House speaker who flirted with a 2008 candidacy but opted out. He’s constantly on the GOP and conservative speech and TV circuit. A switch from that to candidacy wouldn’t be a long leap. It’s been done before. Think Ronald Reagan in the late 1970s.

_By Walter R. Mears