Jindal could have been Demosthenes or Al Pacino or Justin
Timberlake and he would have come across as lame and out of his
depth. There's just no way anyone can follow a gifted political
performer like Obama wowing the country and the Congress at his
first (de facto) State of the Union appearance. It didn't help
that Jindal's audio connection seemed to go on and off. Plus he
had only 12 minutes to Obama's 60. Yet compared to the few other
times I've seen Jindal in action, he seemed pleasant, relaxed, a
bit youthful, but genuinely friendly and decent. He couldn't
promise the world, or lie or dissemble. He praised the president
as required; he didn't hide his own party's recent performance.
Republicans are currently at a huge disadvantage. But this was an
early first step. Even in its current condition, the GOP could do
a lot worse than have a Bobby Jindal taking it.
