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- iHaveNet.com: Politics
by Clarence Page
Don't count Bobby Jindal out. The Louisiana governor, who was touted as "the Republican Obama" before his first big national speech flopped, is rising again, strong enough this time to go toe-to-toe with the real President Obama.
At a time when his party's strongest voices seem to be coming from angry conservative radio pundits and cable TV hosts, Jindal presents a powerfully authentic image of rolled-up-shirtsleeves populist indignation over the gooey threat that BP's oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico poses to his state's "way of life."
That's a far cry from Jindal's first appearance on the national stage. His excruciatingly folksy response on behalf of his party to the president's first congressional address brought comparisons to "Kenneth the page," a gleeful bumpkin character on
Until then Piyush "Bobby" Jindal, who will be 39 on June 10, was often called the "Republican Obama" for his similarities to the original.
Today the former "Kenneth" looks more like Super Bobby, in the news almost daily, at threatened beaches and marshland, talking to constituents and lecturing reporters on the finer points of levees, currents, wind, sand berms and Washington sluggishness.
"In his public remarks, Jindal has gotten as worked up as a circuit-riding preacher," writes Gary Reese in the Southern Political Report. "Is this righteous indignation or political pantomime? It depends on who you ask."
Either way, his passion resonates well with the traditions of colorful Louisiana legends like Huey Long -- in sharp contrast to Obama's professorial impatience with BP and its failure to stop the big gushing leak, despite assistance from the best scientific minds that the
"I would love to just spend a lot of my time venting and yelling at people," Obama told Larry King in a
Indeed, even libertarian Republican Rep. Ron Paul of Texas said on Don Imus' show on
Yet, as an example of how statecraft is largely stagecraft in this media age, Jindal's dispute with the
At first the
The administration's cave-in on sand berms calls to mind the
Lately Jindal also has been receiving praise from liberal-leaners, as reporter Jesse Zwick writes in a recent
Yet, praise from the left for "ideological flexibility" brings scorn from the right for flip-flopping. Some conservatives are miffed that Jindal threatened to reject federal economic stimulus funds, then took them anyway, just because his state needed the money.
They're similarly upset that he seeks federal help against the oil spill. Welcome to the life of a governor, where the ideology that helped you to get your job can get in the way of your ability to do the job.
No, don't count Bobby Jindal out. I think he'll do just fine, if his fellow conservatives don't get in his way.
Available at Amazon.com:
The Disappearing Center: Engaged Citizens, Polarization, and American Democracy
The Virtues of Mendacity: On Lying in Politics
Bush on the Home Front: Domestic Policy Triumphs and Setbacks
The Political Fix: Changing the Game of American Democracy, from the Grassroots to the White House
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Bobby Jindal: GOP's 'Obama' vs. the Real One | Politics
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