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February 25, 2009
Jindal Impressive on Today
Give the man his props. Much better today.
As I remarked in the comments, his problem was that he had been poorly coached. "Be upbeat," they told him. "Be Reagan-like. Be warm, and folksy, and really connect with the common man."
Some people have a gift with this; others don't. Jindal is an uncommon man. He is uncommonly intelligent, educated, and intelligent. While others may easily pull off the common touch -- as Reagan did -- others seem fake and condescending when attempting to channel their inner Bubba.
Mitt Romney, I think, has this problem as well.
The solution is simply to give up on it, by and large. People may react well to the warm, folksy, neighborly thing, but they react very poorly to inauthenticity, and an authentic egghead beats an fake Bubba any day of the weak.
Besides, these are serious times. The public wouldn't mind so much -- particularly now -- if a candidate reveals himself to be quite uncommon.
Palin is a natural at this. Romney and Jindal, not so much. Both men should play to their strengths and stop putting on an act that's fooling no one and reducing their respective appeals.