Um...

. . .just because I am Indian does not mean I have to like Bobby Jindal. In fact, I have a strong dislike for Bobby Jindal. And it's not just because he is a TERRIBLE public speaker (see, e.g. last nights "rebuttal" to Barry-O's fake-me-out State of the Union) or because he is a hardcore conservative (and I am so obviously an uber liberal). I dislike him for the same reason I dislike Sarah Palin: I feel like the Republican party is thrusting him upon the American people in an effort to pander to minorities with no regard to the health and direction of the party. And I frankly find it offensive that they assume I, or any other minority or woman for that matter, would switch party allegiance or get back on board simply because they put a pretty gal or a model minority on primetime!

I do not dispute the fact that at 37, Governor Jindal has had one hell of a career trajectory. His list of accomplishments are impressive and I can already imagine every Indian auntie and uncle out there rattling them off to their children, in sing-songy desi accents, as examples of what good Indian boys and girls manage to do with their time. But, he is a first term governor of Louisiana for Christ sake. Yes, he has dealt with a lot in LA, post-Katrina and before in his various administrative roles, but you can't tell me that he is the best qualified and most obvious choice to deliver the rebuttal to the national stimulus plan from the entire pantheon of conservative, articulate, true-to-the-real, non-evangelical, aspects-of-Republican-fiscal-and-social-philosophy. I do think his idealogy is in sync with traditional Republican values, but he seems super green and to be frank, he did Republicans no big favor yesterday. I think some people were left wishing for Sarah Palin, and that can never be good.

I do remember that Obama was the junior senator from Illinois not too long ago and had little to no national experience when he spoke at the 2004 DNC and kicked off his meteoric rise in the national political arena. But, I don't think the Democrats put Obama forward because he was black--at least it certainly didn't feel that way. I think they pushed him forward because he was charismatic, energetic and his ideas and beliefs resonated with people. He had to fight many battles to get the party base behind him and I think there are still some moderate Dems who have a hard time with the Obama political juggernaut. Regardless, as a life long member of the Democratic party, I can certainly tell you I didn't feel like I was being pandered to when he got the nomination.

I understand the Republican party is sort of in tatters right now---their situation isn't that different from the way the Dems felt in 2000 and 2004. But, for a country that is still feeling the sting and insult from a first term governor from Alaska with almost zero credetials being nominated to be one heartbeat away from the President of the US simply because she was a woman, the Jindal push is just adding insult to injury. To my Republican friends, Bobby Jindal is not the answer and if you want him to ever have a chance at being your salvations, try leaving him alone in Louisiana for another year or two, get him some speech classes and for the love of GOD, don't make it so obvious that the only reason he is being put out there is because he is Indian, young and has the same generous ears as Pres. Obama!!!

As much as I don't agree with Republicans on most things, having a strong, organized conservative base in this country is necessary and in such trying times, a valid, well though out counterpoint is important in making sure things get done right. That's supposed to be the whole advantage of a two-party system and until the Republicans stop tapping people they think we want to listen to as opposed the people who really know what they are talking about, things are going to be slow-going.