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politics
What the Heck Was Bobby Jindal Talking About?
The Louisiana governor had a tough act to follow Tuesday night. But Bobby Jindal, decidedly another rising star among the GOP's ranks, gulped down his fears and strode through the hallways of his mansion to deliver the "Republican Response" to Barack Obama's pep talk for America.
Bearing resemblance to an essay I wrote in the fourth grade, Jindal's speech was titled "Americans Can Do Anything." Obama had just spoken about making the country stronger than ever, like a majestic phoenix rising from the ashes of the nation's collapsed banking system. On the way, Obama even promised to cure cancer. How is Jindal supposed to respond to that?
He did the only thing he could do -- or at least what his speechwriters had planned out for him. He talked about Obama's historic presidency. He spent an unusually long time talking about how his own parents came to Louisiana from India, and they couldn't pay for his birth delivery, but his dad worked out a deal with a doctor, and then one time he went to the grocery store with his dad, and his dad was awed by the amount of food on the shelves, and then he said, "Bobby, Americans can do anything."
At an apparent loss for a segue into his official response to Obama, Jindal opted to tell another anecdote -- this time about when he visited a sheriff during Katrina, and the sheriff was yelling into the phone, and Jindal asked him why he was so mad, and the sheriff said that volunteers with boats who came to rescue people on their rooftops couldn't get permission to save people because "some bureaucrat" forbade them from rowing without proof of insurance and registration. Then Jindal said that was ridiculous, and the sheriff yelled into the phone again, and --
Hey, Bobby, do you have any specifics about the economy, or anything?
After what seemed like hours later, Jindal finally got to his point: Republicans rightfully wanted to lower taxes to "create more jobs." But the darn Democrats axed the plan. Instead, he said, they passed a wasteful bill that puts aside $140 million for "volcano monitoring."
Hey, Democrats! What you "should be monitoring is the eruption of spending in Washington, D.C.," Jindal awkwardly quipped.
Jindal also highlighted other vague GOP principles: to "address the crisis in health care," "make sure every child in America gets the best possible education" and "promote confidence in America."
And for all his talk about Democrats' quibbling and misguided politics, he chided them for not being "bipartisan" enough. Everyone should "put aside partisan politics and work together," he said. No word yet on whether his fellow Republicans, nearly all of whom voted against the stimulus package, got that message.
Jindal, who gained political points among some Republicans when he said last week that he will refuse some stimulus money, also may have forgotten to look over his notes after Obama's address. One of the first things Obama said was, "We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before."
Yet Jindal for some reason countered with, "Don't let anyone tell you that we cannot recover, or that America's best days are behind her."
Jindal, whose tie matched the stripes on the American flag behind him, closed his national debut by invoking the abolition of slavery, the triumph over the Great Depression, victories in not one but two world wars, equalities gained from the civil rights battle, the extinguishing of the "Soviet menace" and the courageous response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"The American spirit has triumphed over almost every form of adversity known to man," he said, "and the American spirit will triumph again."
Bearing resemblance to an essay I wrote in the fourth grade, Jindal's speech was titled "Americans Can Do Anything." Obama had just spoken about making the country stronger than ever, like a majestic phoenix rising from the ashes of the nation's collapsed banking system. On the way, Obama even promised to cure cancer. How is Jindal supposed to respond to that?
He did the only thing he could do -- or at least what his speechwriters had planned out for him. He talked about Obama's historic presidency. He spent an unusually long time talking about how his own parents came to Louisiana from India, and they couldn't pay for his birth delivery, but his dad worked out a deal with a doctor, and then one time he went to the grocery store with his dad, and his dad was awed by the amount of food on the shelves, and then he said, "Bobby, Americans can do anything."
At an apparent loss for a segue into his official response to Obama, Jindal opted to tell another anecdote -- this time about when he visited a sheriff during Katrina, and the sheriff was yelling into the phone, and Jindal asked him why he was so mad, and the sheriff said that volunteers with boats who came to rescue people on their rooftops couldn't get permission to save people because "some bureaucrat" forbade them from rowing without proof of insurance and registration. Then Jindal said that was ridiculous, and the sheriff yelled into the phone again, and --
Hey, Bobby, do you have any specifics about the economy, or anything?
After what seemed like hours later, Jindal finally got to his point: Republicans rightfully wanted to lower taxes to "create more jobs." But the darn Democrats axed the plan. Instead, he said, they passed a wasteful bill that puts aside $140 million for "volcano monitoring."
Hey, Democrats! What you "should be monitoring is the eruption of spending in Washington, D.C.," Jindal awkwardly quipped.
Jindal also highlighted other vague GOP principles: to "address the crisis in health care," "make sure every child in America gets the best possible education" and "promote confidence in America."
And for all his talk about Democrats' quibbling and misguided politics, he chided them for not being "bipartisan" enough. Everyone should "put aside partisan politics and work together," he said. No word yet on whether his fellow Republicans, nearly all of whom voted against the stimulus package, got that message.
Jindal, who gained political points among some Republicans when he said last week that he will refuse some stimulus money, also may have forgotten to look over his notes after Obama's address. One of the first things Obama said was, "We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before."
Yet Jindal for some reason countered with, "Don't let anyone tell you that we cannot recover, or that America's best days are behind her."
Jindal, whose tie matched the stripes on the American flag behind him, closed his national debut by invoking the abolition of slavery, the triumph over the Great Depression, victories in not one but two world wars, equalities gained from the civil rights battle, the extinguishing of the "Soviet menace" and the courageous response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"The American spirit has triumphed over almost every form of adversity known to man," he said, "and the American spirit will triumph again."
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CarpenterGuy
12:40AM 12:40AM Feb 25th 2009
Due to the lack of objectivity in the article it is apparent the writer pulls the D lever. Everyone remembers the 1919 world series being fixed. 2008 will be remembered as the year the press swung the election!
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JAB
5:52AM 5:52AM Feb 25th 2009
Frankly, that could be applied to most any year. The press influences our votes, what entertainment we like, the clothes we wear, the car we drive, the style of our hair. And on and on it goes. What America think is most important is what the press tells them is most important (even if it is not so,..ala O.J. Simpson trial, or Jessica Simpson's weight gain,..give me a break!)
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Bobd
9:21AM 9:21AM Feb 25th 2009
It’s obvious from your response you do not pull the “D” lever. This probably means you are incapable of making rational judgments. I’ve been a registered voting republican for over 50 years. I did not vote for dubya, but I did vote for Nixon. Even Nixon was a better president than dubya. You probably could have run against dubya and won. The press had little to do with the election. It was all about cheney and dubya.
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Puleeze
11:04AM 11:04AM Feb 25th 2009
Um Bob, dubya and cheney were not running in the last election.
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Chuck
10:42PM 10:42PM Feb 25th 2009
It's obvious that the writer of this column is an Obama socialist and is opposed to anything a conservative has to say. Bobby Jindal is a true conservative. Obama does not have a conservative bone in his body. As for bipartisanship, I could never vote for a R who voted for the stimulus bill because it;s not a stimulus bill, it's a socialist spending bill.
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Kendall
7:17PM 7:17PM Feb 26th 2009
So, which brand of foil do you find makes the best hat?
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mcl449
4:11PM 4:11PM Feb 27th 2009
Objectivity or not, the Republican party won't have him deliver the next response.
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cscnnv
10:30PM 10:30PM Feb 27th 2009
No kidding, was definitely written by a democrat/liberal. One should beware not to use his information as a good resource. He also doesn't respect editing...noticed he didn't spell the word, the, correctly...good job, Matt.
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Joel
1:07AM 1:07AM Feb 25th 2009
Matt:
Use spell check next article.
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falling
6:16PM 6:16PM Feb 25th 2009
Hey, did a nice shiny new badge come with the job of spelling police? The boards allow EVERYONE to express their opinion, there is no extra credit for winning the spelling bee!
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kryss
10:02PM 10:02PM Feb 26th 2009
yeah matt go get fcuked.
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ygt
2:54AM 2:54AM Feb 25th 2009
Mr. Jindal's commentary was a waste of time...nothing but motivating, uplifting or a positive reflection for Republicans. He should truly focus his efforts on revamping the state of LA, especially New Orleans.
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VIOLET
8:01AM 8:01AM Feb 26th 2009
is this the governor who still hasn't rebuilt the homes for the people who lost them when Katrina ? what can you expect from a stupid person that can't take care of the homeless while he lives in a masion built for a king.sure he doesn' want the money for his state he has enough for his family while the people of his state live with lack of homes,jobs and decent health care and schooling conditions..SHAME ON YOU
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Ann
9:11PM 9:11PM Feb 26th 2009
VIOLET, Governor Jindal's leadership was tested through two back to back hurricanes that devastated much of Louisiana this past summer. He showed us what a capable leader can do for us...as opposed to the mess and loss we had when Democrat Blanco was at the helm during Katrina. My husband and I took care of the damage done to our home due to the storms. We did not sit on our rears and whine about the government not bailing us out. I guess that's the difference between those of us who take responsibility for our own lives and those who expect the government to give them hand out after hand out.
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Henry C. Hannah
2:51AM 2:51AM Feb 27th 2009
Ann:>>>>>>>>>>>> You did not have a hurricane placing your home under water like Katrina. You are comparing apples and oranges when you mention you did your own repairs as opposed to Katrina where the public could not individually handle the flooding and after math of a really terrible storm.
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annewahm
10:05AM 10:05AM Feb 27th 2009
Henry C. Hannah, several of my relatives and friends were flooded. All of them are back in their homes now. They did not sit around and wait for the government to do everything for them. Then there are others who took the assistance that our government gave them, used it how they saw fit and are now wailing about the conditions that they left themselves in.
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Master
3:15AM 3:15AM Feb 25th 2009
Well done Grasshopper ... and please, don't let the trailer-park ambassadors get you down. Following are excerpts of the "nicer" comments from the "Paid for by Friends of Jindal" crowd:
BRIT HUME: “The speech read a lot better than it sounded. This was not Bobby Jindal’s greatest oratorical moment.”
NINA EASTON: “The delivery was not exactly terrific.”
CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER: “Jindal didn’t have a chance. He follows Obama, who in making speeches, is in a league of his own. He’s in a Reagan-esque league. … [Jindal] tried the best he could.”
JUAN WILLIAMS: “It came off as amateurish, and even the tempo in which he spoke was sing-songy. He was telling stories that seemed very simplistic and almost childish.”
New York Times columnist David Brooks also remarked, “In a moment when only the federal government is actually big enough to do stuff, to just ignore all that and just say ‘government is the problem, corruption, earmarks, wasteful spending,’ it’s just a form of nihilism. It’s just not where the country is, it’s not where the future of the country is.”
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Thomas J Gassett
3:39AM 3:39AM Feb 25th 2009
Who gave this partisan fool a forum?
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Thomas J Gassett
3:43AM 3:43AM Feb 25th 2009
Wake up! The government can't run an economy anywhere but into the ground. The democrats are spending your grandchilds future, and all the unwashed masses can do is cheer. Mikey Moore was right. "Americans are the stupidest people on the planet."
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markeschu
12:06PM 12:06PM Feb 25th 2009
Like the republicans deregulating everything so we have a major bank meltdown? The republicans have become
a hate everything party that can not take responsibility for there actions.
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