NEW YORK – Insane. Childish. Disaster. And those were some of the kinder comments from political pundits about Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and his response to President Barack Obama's speech to Congress on Tuesday night. Jindal, 37, a Rhodes scholar and son of Indian immigrants, is considered a rising star in Republican ranks and a likely 2012 presidential candidate.
GOP leaders, looking for a fresh face for the party's image, tapped Jindal earlier this month for the high-profile task of rebutting Obama's first address to a joint session of Congress.
But in both style and substance, Jindal's speech has drawn flak from Republicans and Democrats alike.
His criticism of government spending for emergency economic relief has been widely panned, especially given his state's receipt of billions in federal assistance after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. And Jindal's voice and earnest, awkward delivery have drawn comparisons to Kenneth Parcell, the geeky page on the NBC comedy "30 Rock."
Indeed, a new Facebook group titled "Bobby Jindal is Kenneth the Page" had already attracted more than 1,800 members Wednesday afternoon.
Republicans had high hopes for Jindal after his appearance Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," where he delivered a forceful, concise critique of Obama's $787 billion stimulus plan and explained his decision to reject some of the money allotted for his state. He also impressed observers when he spoke to reporters after a meeting with Obama and other governors at the White House Monday.
Jindal spoke from the governor's mansion in Baton Rouge, and critics pounced on his remarks almost immediately, panning everything from his overly folksy demeanor to his complaint that Obama's plan to revive the economy was "irresponsible."
David Brooks, a conservative New York Times columnist who has criticized aspects of the stimulus plan, nonetheless called Jindal's arguments "insane" and tone-deaf given the dire economic challenges the country faces.
"To come up in this moment in history with a stale, 'Government is the problem, you can't trust the federal government' is just a disaster for the Republican Party," Brooks said on PBS' "The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer." "It's not where the country is, it's not where the future of the country is."
Fox News commentator Juan Williams focused on Jindal's delivery.
"It came off as amateurish, and even the tempo in which he spoke was singsongy," Williams said, adding that the content of the speech was "very simplistic and almost childish."
