THE PARTY SHOULD BE MORE SOUTHERN, IF THAT MEANS BOBBY JNDAL AND ANH CAO ARE ITS NEW FACE:

Election is 'a giant step' for O.C. Vietnamese Americans (Nation's first Vietnamese American congressman continues a political path that began in Little Saigon. (DOUG IRVING, 12/07/08, The Orange County Register)

"Oh, how neat!" [Tony Lam, the first Vietnamese American to hold political office when he was elected to Westminster's City Council in 1992] said Sunday when he was told that voters in New Orleans had elected Anh "Joseph" Cao to Congress. "That makes me so proud. We've come a long way."

Cao, a Republican, defeated 10-term Democrat William Jefferson in a mostly black and heavily Democratic district. It didn't help Jefferson's campaign that he is facing charges of bribery, money laundering and misusing his congressional office.

Cao came to the United States as a child fleeing war. He works as an immigration attorney, credentials that could come in handy if Congress takes up immigration reform – which President-elect Barack Obama has said he wants lawmakers to do in his first term.