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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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CHUCK SEWELL
12:32PM 12:32PM Feb 25th 2009
"Wake up! The government can't run an economy anywhere but into the ground. The democrats are spending your grandchilds future," Actually Thomas the Govt. is spending my Great grandchildrens money.The last 8 years is when my grand childrens money was spent.( 1 Trillion dollar debt) and my kids are not old enough to have kids yet.
C
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David
8:08AM 8:08AM Mar 5th 2009
Please, just cut income taxes and give small businesses a tax incentive and everything will be all right. Oh, wait, I lost my job, cutting taxes won't help me one iota. What now Mr. Trickle Down Economist? What is small business going to do when no one is buying? Those tax incentives do not equate more jobs. That TARP money would have better been spent by sending it in the form of a debit card to the 200,000 most needy families across america. Cut the banks out of the loop. People would not need credit to buy the things they need to live. Do the math; 200,000 into 700 billion dollars gives families some real buying power. And, since it's a debit card, they can't hoard it like the Banks have done.
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Kevin
4:25PM 4:25PM Feb 26th 2009
tommy tommy,Get your head out of chneys butt. 8 years of republican control created this mess. gov Jindal gave no road to recovery other than we can do anything. Empowering the small business will not keep this economy from going into a depression. Heck the 2 smartest conservatitive economists in the republican party made it reaL CLEAR THE GOVT HAS TO ACT IT HAS TO SPEND AND SPEND BIG TO KEEP THIS FROM GOING TO WHAT APPEARS TO BE A DEPRESSION.This from Fed chai and treasury secretary under Pres Bush..How quick you go into denial
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carol
4:01PM 4:01PM Feb 28th 2009
I believe you are referring to when the Republicans run the government, cuz everyone knows (or should know by now) that they sure don't know how to govern!
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Rob E
9:36AM 9:36AM Feb 28th 2009
You are right, about Americans being "stupid" (read uneducated). Instead of wasting billions every month on an unnecessary war in IRAQ, that money could have been spent on education. Conservatives, especially the so called "core" of the republican party are responsible for much of this countries problems. Blindly following an ideology that none of you can speak to other than abortion and gay marriage! What did the past administration do for this country? You look to morons like Limbaugh, Coulter, Palin, Jindal for leadership? Sad state of affairs.
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Tasha Tchin
5:16PM 5:16PM Mar 3rd 2009
If Americans are the stupidest people on the planet, perhaps they got that way from the propaganda they have been fed. Take the housing bubble that is causing the current financial meltdown (that was created by the Democrats) -- someone just blamed it all on the Republicans. Wow! Talk about your stupid Americans! Unless the media propagandists tell you that Bubba did it, you'd think Bush did it from the way they talk (not that Bush was any kind of a prize other than booby, but he was just a RINO).
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BELLCORD
6:14AM 6:14AM Feb 25th 2009
IT IF YOU LISTEN REAL HARD, YOU CAN HEAR SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE WRITERS FORGING THE COFFIN NAILS ON JINDAL'S CAREER RIGHT NOW..
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SNL hahaha
8:53PM 8:53PM Feb 28th 2009
I'll be watching SNL tonight! SNL sure helped Sarah Palin's career. The GOP gives SNL so much material!
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tdbug58
6:39AM 6:39AM Feb 25th 2009
Matt..
Your a Fine example of the young and ignorant. Your such a loser .. This is why this country is in such trouble.. Go to ____
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Tom
7:27AM 7:27AM Feb 25th 2009
Speaking of ignorant, it's "you're" -- not your. There are actually TWO ways to spell TWO different words that sound alike. We call that a homonym. No, don't get all upset, Republicans -- it doesn't mean gay,
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Katzenmutter
2:21AM 2:21AM Feb 26th 2009
Some people can't spell or use spell check. "Your such a loser." So you own the looser? You are is shortened " you're". Go back to school.
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charles byrd
7:46AM 7:46AM Feb 25th 2009
There is not a nickels worth of difference between the Dems & Repubs.!!!
Ron Paul was & is the only member of Congress to know who Lysander Spooner was and the REAL meaning of the Constitutiion.
When they come for our guns, that is when Americans will wake up--READ HR45 and pray for your Country-
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Sonya
8:01AM 8:01AM Feb 25th 2009
skyboi3000
You know this economy is bad when the Republicans outsource their presidential response through India's Bobby Jindal.
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van
8:30AM 8:30AM Feb 25th 2009
bobby jindal is an american...he was born in this country..so he is an american of indian descent...so if you believe what you wrote then american outsourced the presidency to africa?
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Rad
10:02PM 10:02PM Feb 25th 2009
The choice of words is sooo unfair! Jindal was born in America and considers himself a true American. He was humble enough to speak about the awe his father, an Indian immigrant, felt at the capability of America. But apparently Chris Matthews had made up his mind about Jindal even before he got a chance to speak. There's a youtube video going around of Matthews muttering 'Oh God' right before Jindal walked in front of the cameras. And then Matthews went on to - infamously - use the phrase "outsourced" when referring to Jindal. Oh come on Chris...we're all Americans here!!!
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Rob
9:43AM 9:43AM Feb 27th 2009
OK, now - let's see his original birth certificate (which I can pretty much guarantee right now is a fake before even seeing it) - Jindal was definitely not born in America !! Sound familiar to any of you right-wing nuts out there ????
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RUSerious
8:05AM 8:05AM Feb 25th 2009
The Repugnuts have poorly put these "brown" characters up against BO so that they really don't look silly or racist, but in fact these "brown" fool, Steele & Jindal have shown the Repugnuts true colors. It doesn't matter who spew it brown, red, blue or green, garbage is garbage.
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M.G.M.
9:17AM 9:17AM Feb 25th 2009
Jinal was being used by the Republicans whether he knows it or not. He was not the best candidate to respond in their behalf--a truly boring, staid and obviously prepared speech from a fellow minority. A future president--I don't think so. If he refuses assistance for his recovering state based on party lines, we still have a long way to go!! A truly pitiful attempt to convince anyone to back the Republicans.
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Rad
10:02PM 10:02PM Feb 25th 2009
Actually Jindal was a story much before Obama. He's a smart kid who's worked for McKinsey and has some great ideas about what to do. In 1996 Republican Governor Mike Foster appointed Jindal to be secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, an agency which then represented about 40 percent of the state budget. During his tenure as secretary, Louisiana's Medicaid program went from bankruptcy with a $400 million deficit into three years of surpluses totaling $220 million, thanks to his smarts! Also, he became governor of a state not exactly known for it's 'tolerance' in January '08 - a year before BO became president. How did he do it if it were not for pure merit? Unfortunately, such is the power of BO that anyone who dares criticize him gets skewered!!
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Ben Donatelli
8:38AM 8:38AM Feb 25th 2009
Tough to follow our president's speech however, give the GOP time to develop their future leaders. I usually vote for Democratic candidates but there is no use dumping on anyone who has the courage to follow an eloquent and very challenged leader who needs everyone's support.
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