How the mighty have fallen. And newspapers wonder why they are losing readers. I know, I know. I'm beating this subject to death, but it's not every day that our guy fails so spectacularly. Sadly, it's getting to be a regular thing for the Washington Post writers to get it very wrong.
From Michael Gerson at the Washington Post:
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal -- selected to deliver the Republicans' Fat Tuesday response to President Obama -- might also be voted the man least likely to let the good times roll. Slight, earnest, deeply religious and supremely wonkish, Jindal resembles neither his flamboyant predecessors as governor nor his reveling, 30-something contemporaries on Bourbon Street.
You can say that again. But wait!
Some have compared Jindal to Obama, but the new president has always been more attracted to platitudes than to policy. Rush Limbaugh has anointed Jindal "the next Ronald Reagan." But Reagan enjoyed painting on a large ideological canvas. In person, Jindal's manner more closely resembles another recent president: Bill Clinton. Like Clinton (a fellow Rhodes scholar), Jindal has the ability to overwhelm any topic with facts and thoughtful arguments -- displaying a mastery of detail that encourages confidence. Both speak of complex policy issues with the world-changing intensity of a late-night dorm room discussion.
....
At this point in the election cycle, no Republican can be considered more than the flavor of the month. But this is an appealing one.
I'd wager Gerson didn't watch the speech before he wrote his column. What's missing from the comparison is the total lack of charisma on Jindal's part. Clinton engaged as he policy-wonked.
A late-night dorm discussion? Does Gerson have the right stuff to be a columnist for a major newspaper?
And yes, I do know that President Obama gave a fine State of the Union speech last night.
I don't even see Jindal as a policy wonk.
ReplyDeleteJust a hapless nerd. His speech was historically bad last night.
Stick a fork in that boy, he's done!
Stick a fork in that boy, he's done!
ReplyDeleteMaybe on the national scene, but not quite done here, although even the local folks are getting impatient with his constant travels to raise money for "his next campaign for governor".
Nor does everyone here agree with his plan to turn down money, any money, even 1% of the package, from the feds. He could possibly be a one-termer.
I think you're right about the columnist not hearing Jindal's speech before writing the column.
ReplyDeleteIt's the same mistake Jindal made by writing his speech before knowing what Obama was going to say.
He was absolutely pathetic.
Gerson belongs to a CANA church - what does that say about him?
ReplyDeleteAn embarrassment, not ready for the big time. I don't know if Jindal would have changed his speech if he had read Obama's speech. He's blindly hewing to the party line in hopes of furthering his ambition, which seems to be without bounds.
ReplyDeleteAnn, it says a lot - at least to me.
ReplyDeleteNor does everyone here agree with his plan to turn down money, any money, even 1% of the package, from the feds. He could possibly be a one-termer.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering about that. Even Gov. Goodhair Perry isn't that stupid.
Rachel Madow reports that Jindal cannot be reached for comment today "because he has gone to Disney World". Ms Madow's comment on this - and mine - "I am not making this up".
ReplyDeleteNote also that the Republicans HAD to put in a governor as the person to respond to the President. Any Republican Congressman or Senator still in office has no moral authority to criticize any Democrat these days. Jindal had a thread, at least beforehand.
ReplyDeleteDisney World, Lapin? That's perfect.
ReplyDeletePaul, they could have made a better choice. Had anyone asked me, I could have told them, "Don't do it!"
This fellow Gerson must be out of his depths.
ReplyDeleteGod, that was painful to watch!
ReplyDeleteI felt embarrassed for Jindal. Clearly, he has had no training - at least, no effective training - in public speaking. Not only was the content lacking, the delivery was insultingly simplistic, his demeanor stiff, his facial expression almost comically the classic "deer-in-the-headlights." Finally, he is a - and this counts to the average (oh, so average) voter - he is a visually unappealing speaker, cadaverously thin, hollow-eyed, expressionless.
Jindall and other extremists may be adhering to a party line, but it stopped being Republican years ago. They're more like extremist libertarians than anything else.
ReplyDeleteAs I've watched them over the last few weeks it has occurred to me that not only are they unaware of how they are making themselves irrelevant in today's circumstances, they'll probably never figure out why it happened to them.
Mike, did you happen to catch Tom Delay on "Hardball"? Why would so-called news show invite him to appear? I'm revolted by him.
ReplyDeleteEvidently, Mimi, (a) the Republicans decision-making process continues to be "on track" and (b) needless to say, you are the last person they would ever ask for advice.
ReplyDeleteOh, and you didn't mention that it's worse than we thought.
ReplyDeleteThis is where Bobby Jindal got his talking point from:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0cpjhTRO28
I watched some of Jindal's response until it became too painful even for Schadenfreude. It was my first direct encounter with his efforts, though I have noted your comments in the past, Mimi. The amazing part was that some Republicans were apparently embarrassed themselves, which may demonstrate a greater awareness of reality than they have hitherto shown, but probably not.
ReplyDeleteAs to this Gerson, he doesn't seem to be any worse than many of the WaPo's editorials and other commentators of late; how the mighty have fallen!
Funny, Jon Stewart compared Jindal with Mister Rogers, but I couldn't help seeing Rowan Atkinson as Mr. Bean. --- that perplexed and disappointed look.
ReplyDeleteNo, Mimi, thankfully I didn't see Tom DeLay on Hardball. He nauseates me. I keep wondering myself why the media keeps giving time to him and others like him, Newt Gingrich, Sara Palin, Joe the (never was a) Plumber, the bizarre congresscritter who keeps questioning Obama's citizenship, and the rest of the cast of characters.
ReplyDeleteI did see Paul Krugman who recently won a Nobel Prize for Economics, on Countdown. Krugman said that the Republican Party has moved from being the "Party of Ideas" to being the Party of Beavis and Butthead.
Krugman is right.
Tobias ... I think maybe it was Jindall's bizarre around-the-corner entrance and his head-tilted-sideways posture that reminded you of Rowan Atkinson's Mr. Bean ... and maybe the neck size too.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if we can send him a plate of the kind of oysters Mr. Bean had on holiday.
You folks are not helping me get over my obsession with Jindal, you know. Mr. Bean, Mr. Rogers, whoever he is, he is not Bill Clinton.
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