The president spoke tonight, marking the return of the HopeChangeWoo. It was a fine speech for what it was. Obama is clearly more comfortable in front of a teleprompter than a press corps.
But wow, what the hell was that GOP response from Bobby Jindal? Here's a Republican Rhodes Scholar with an Ivy League education, and he's talking to the American people like none of them have anything beyond a sixth-grade education. Just rereading his remarks makes me wonder what exactly the strategy is here.
Obama put forward some fairly sobering and straightforward talk (we'll withhold judgment on his sincerity), only to be followed by Bobby Jindal's cheesy tale of his Slumdog Millionaire upbringing. It was equally curious that, in what amounted to an introduction to the nation, Jindal only wanted to talk about his father flipping through the Yellow Pages. That Jindal went to Brown and is a Rhodes Scholar is apparently not noteworthy, even as the logical conclusion of the "immigrant kid done good" story.
Or perhaps Jindal's address shows a keen awareness of how backwards and anti-intellectual today's Republican base is. Republicans tend to distrust smart people with good educations, after all. That's why they think Sarah Palin is so great. She's just like them - she hunts a lot, makes chili from wild game, and went to a bunch of colleges that nobody's ever heard of. The base loves people like Bobby Jindal's father but hates people like Bobby Jindal.
Bobby Jindal could be a blessing to a Republican Party desperate for some new faces. The only question is whether most of the Republican base is smart enough to realize it.
But wow, what the hell was that GOP response from Bobby Jindal? Here's a Republican Rhodes Scholar with an Ivy League education, and he's talking to the American people like none of them have anything beyond a sixth-grade education. Just rereading his remarks makes me wonder what exactly the strategy is here.
Obama put forward some fairly sobering and straightforward talk (we'll withhold judgment on his sincerity), only to be followed by Bobby Jindal's cheesy tale of his Slumdog Millionaire upbringing. It was equally curious that, in what amounted to an introduction to the nation, Jindal only wanted to talk about his father flipping through the Yellow Pages. That Jindal went to Brown and is a Rhodes Scholar is apparently not noteworthy, even as the logical conclusion of the "immigrant kid done good" story.
Or perhaps Jindal's address shows a keen awareness of how backwards and anti-intellectual today's Republican base is. Republicans tend to distrust smart people with good educations, after all. That's why they think Sarah Palin is so great. She's just like them - she hunts a lot, makes chili from wild game, and went to a bunch of colleges that nobody's ever heard of. The base loves people like Bobby Jindal's father but hates people like Bobby Jindal.
Bobby Jindal could be a blessing to a Republican Party desperate for some new faces. The only question is whether most of the Republican base is smart enough to realize it.
10 comments:
When Republican hear Brown, they think either the (Cleveland) Browns or Brown- the UPS truck commercials are on the NASCAR races. The GOP has really jumped the shark.
I just read the address.
3 paragraphs is all he talked about his upbringing.
3 paragraphs!
Any thoughts on, you know, the other 95% of what he said?? Limited government, reducing spending, healthcare decisions made by patients and doctors, lowering taxes on business?
Anything?
And To Think Kev @ Lakeshore Laments continues to insist Jindal is the Next prez!!!
Me thinks he's been in DC a bit to long!!
Can you get him a job?
When you can demonstrate that the Intellectualoids actually govern BETTER than the first 1,000 names in the Milwaukee phone-book, get back to me.
Remember that all those Bright And Highly Intelligent People also ran Bear, Stearns, Goldman, Citi, Lehmann, GM, Chrysler,.....
Or did you forget that already?
Jindal?
Kinda makes your comment about the Catholic "Church" a few posts prior to this one "worth not too much."
To sound like Jindal, a convert.
Ha!
Dad,
Now now. Just because intelligent people sometimes get greedy and make bad decisions doesn't mean that the stupid people are a better option.
All humans, regardless of intelligence, seem to be pretty good at being driven by self-interest and screwing things up royally from time to time. Perhaps you've seen some of the finer specimens of the other half on Springer, or Maury? You and I pay for the bad life decisions of lots of people, stupid and smart alike.
I'll still take the smart ones any day of the week. Even though they will screw up from time to time, they are still far better equipped to deal with complex issues than a handful of blue collar troglodytes clutching their GED's.
Jindal has to dumb it down -- he's competing with Joe the Plumber to be Sarah Palin's running mate in 2012.
Maybe it's a southern accent, slow-talking thing? Al Gore also has a tendency to speak like Mr. Rogers, as if he's talking down to his audience. It annoyed the hell out of me, and I LIKED what he was saying.
Let's not forget that Jindal's stand is totally empty. He's not turning down the stimulus money. He's turning down PART of the money. And the only reason he can do that is because his state has sucked in more federal money in the last couple years than almost any other. So the only reason he can turn his nose up at the $110m for unemployment is cuz he's back filling it with state dollars he doesn't need for other state programs cuz the feds are already paying for those. Either way LA is getting plenty of federal money.
The real problem is that Bobby's central story about Katrina and his role with the sheriff who bucked the bureaucracy was made up. Jindal wasn't even there.
See http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0209/Jindal_aide_Story_was_set_after_Katrina.html?showall
Barry (not the Alvarez)
Post a Comment