Watching Bobby Jindal end his national aspirations in under ten minutes last night was a moment to behold. I can't think of a worse Republican response to a presidential address, ever. His tone reminded me of being in the third grade and being taken on a tour of the local historical society. "Look, children, this chair is verrrry old. Can you say 'old'? I knew you could!" Condescending, patronizing, speaking down to his audience. Could anything serve better as a bookend to the Bush years?
For many Americans, this was probably their first exposure to the Governor from Louisiana. I'm guessing it will also be their last. It was a horrible, awful speech, bereft of any ideas or solutions to the country's problems. Jindal's primary concern seemed to be his party's problems, and his own ambitions. He didn't offer up much to support those, either.
In the end, he came across (to me anyway) as the proprietor of a funeral parlor. His ill-fitting, cheap-looking suit, his stiff, awkward Lurch-esque manner (if there's another remake of the Addams Family in the works, he a shoe-in for a role), and his success in drawing all of the hope, excitement and life out of what had been an uplifting evening to the point of his teetering entrance, all contributed to a political hari-kari of epic proportions. As Simon Cowell of American Idol would put it, "You get one chance to impress America, and frankly, you blew it."
Governor Jindal, not only did you fail to impress, you succeeded in draining all of the remaining fluids from the corpse of GOP, and embalmed the dessicated carcass that remained. You and your fellow pallbearers, McCain, Palin and Steele, now have the honor of putting that corpse in the ground. As far as that goes, congratulations on a job well done.
