GayPatriot

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Free Advice For Bobby Jindal

by

First of all, I did not watch President Obama or Gov. Jindal on Tuesday night.   But the reviews of Jindal have been terrible.  Which is too bad, cuz he is one of the smartest people I have ever known in public service.   I mean super-scary smart.

So, if any one in Baton Rouge reads us, I have some FREE advice:  HAVE JINDAL GO ON THE TONIGHT SHOW IN THE NEXT SEVEN DAYS.

Laughing at yourself is good.  Reagan was good at it, and the Tonight Show gig did wonders for Clinton after his long and boring convention speech in 1992 (or whenever the hell that was…. my distant past).

So there you go.  All free.  [Full disclosure:  I worked on a project with Jindal when he worked at HHS.  I’ve donated to his campaigns in the past. I’m a fan.  He wouldn’t know me if he tripped over me while walking down a long hallway.]

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

PS – Are you following me at Twitter?  I’m an addict now that I’ve figured what it is all about (took me 6 months!)  It is like crack for a blogger.  And I’m great with keeping it under 150 characters.   Oh, and there is a Twitter app for the iPhone.  What could be more awesome for a techno-stupid writer/reader of politics??

Comments

  2. The Clinton speech was in 1988 and it was worse than boring. I think the problem was that Jindal had nothing to offer but “no”. But you are right that he needs to work on his delivery. Some talk show appearances wouldn’t hurt. He should make fun of his stiff delivery. People love it when you can laugh at yourself. What no career can survive is being the butt off the joke but if you are telling them yourself you look good.

  3. The libs are just shocked as hell to see an Indian who isn’t in a taxi or 7-11. They’re especially shocked that you can understand what he’s saying.

    Naturally, they have to try and destroy ‘im.

    Anybody remember Tim Kaine’s eyebrow giving a response to Bush? That was even worse.

    [Full Disclosure: Afterward, I managed to buy Kaine’s eybrow on eBay. Seriously.]

  5. I think the problem was that Jindal had nothing to offer but “no”.

    And Houndentenor joins the ranks of those who didn’t bother to listen to Jindal before criticizing him. (Note: You may have sat there and physically watched Jindal’s lips moving, or heard his words in the background as you thought about how much you love the Dear Leader’s “elegance” or some such. That still wouldn’t be listening.)

  6. I did watch Bobby Jindal´s response. I agreed with his discourse. The problems I saw was that he had a five o´clock shadow, he should´ve shaved before going before the cameras, and his delivery. Whoever planned the event is to be blamed. His response was given from the Governor´s Mansion and he didn´t have a live audience which energizes a speaker. I remember when Chrsitie Todd Whitman gave her response to Bill Clinton´s address, she spoke from the Capitol in Trenton and she had a live audience, probably some Republican legislators. If memory serves me correctly she earned positive revbiews from the commentators.

  7. An even veiled comparison of Jindal to Reagan or Clinton is foolish. Jindal is a very accomplished individual. He is unquestionable smart. But he does not have the gifted communication skills of Reagan or Clinton. That’s something you either have or you don’t — and Jindal doesn’t have it. That’s not something that changed Tuesday, though it may have become more apparent to some. So to expect Jindal to be able to go on the Tonight Show and be similarly charming is a bit unfair.

  8. While I expected I would disagree with him on many of the issues he would address, I looked forward to Jindal’s response. From what I had previously seen or read, I really expected the guy to hit a home run — not strike out on three swings.

    Walking into what appeared to be the mansion’s foyer –ala Presidents Bush and Obama walking the red carpet into the East Room – just didn’t cut it. He should have sat in a wingback chair in front of bookcases or a freplace.

    His delivery was the biggest disappointment. Having seen some interviews with him, I once thought I’d hate to be the Democrat running against him for president in 2016. He must have been nervous as hell because he looked and sounded like a high school orator making his first big speech and afraid he’d pee his pants. Unless he learns to talk to that camera lens like its his best friend there isn’t much standing between Sarah Palin and the 2012 nomination.

    As far as the content, he ought to fire the speechwriter who wrote it or the consultants who framed it. Using Hurricane Katrina as a reference for many of the points he tried to make was a disaster.

    The federal bureaucracy he criticized for its handling of Katrina was a Republican bureaucracy. (By the way, from day one I have defended the Bush Administration’s response to Katrina. Considering the scope and magnitude of the disaster, I thought the federal response was both adequate and timely.)

    And at times he tried to give the impression the people of New Orleans and Louisiana recovered “on their own”. Missing was an acknowlegement of the billions and billions of taxpayer money the U. S. government poured into New Orleans and neighboring parishes.

    And a governor of Louisiana shouldn’t be talking about wasteful federal spending and boondoggles.

    I won’t blame Jindah for the millions siphoned out of flood control money for Louisiana to build port facilities for riverboat casinos (‘tho he was in the U. S. House of Representatives when some of that money was appopriated). But if Jindah really opposes wasteful federal spending he should oppose every federal dollar that’s been or is being spent to help rebuild New Orleans, which is still below sea level and continues each year to sink further below sea level in an area highly prone to major hurricanes, and every federal dollar that’s been or is being spent to rebuild and “strengthen” levies and flood walls, which themselves rest on sinking, unstable land.

    In the end, I was embarrassed for Jindah. It may take more than appearances on Leno, etc., to get him ready for, as they say, prime time.