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.