SALON

Wednesday, Mar 25, 2009 6:00 PM UTC

Jindal on whether he wants Obama to fail: It depends

The Louisiana governor, headlining a GOP fundraiser, gets in a few shots at the president.

By

Topics: Barack Obama, War Room, Bobby Jindal,

Wednesday night, for the second time in recent memory, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal had to go up against prime-time coverage of President Obama. Don’t worry for Jindal, though — by all indications, he did much better than he had in his previous attempt.

Jindal wasn’t really counter-programming Obama this time around; he was just headlining a big fundraiser for the National Republican Congressional Committee that happeend to have been scheduled for a night when Obama decided to hold a press conference. But the coincidence naturally led to talk of the governor’s response to the president’s address to Congress. Jindal himself acknowledged this, and his previous performance, joking, “They’re not allowed to show my speech at Gitmo anymore. They’ve banned that.”

The governor also brought up, unbidden, a question that’s been addressed to many Republicans after Rush Limbaugh answered it in the affirmative: Does he want the president to fail? Jindal’s response to the question — which he termed — “the latest ‘gotcha’ game” — was a qualified sort of “maybe.”

“Make no mistake: Anything other than an immediate and compliant, ‘Why no sir, I don’t want the president to fail,’ is treated as some sort of act of treason, civil disobedience or political obstructionism,” Jindal said. “My answer to the question is very simple: ‘Do you want the president to fail?’ It depends on what he is trying to do.”

Alex Koppelman

Alex Koppelman is a staff writer for Salon. More Alex Koppelman.

Next Article

You Might Also Like

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

Gripping photos: The people of the Turkey protests (slideshow)

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • The protests take on a festive element as police forces move out of the park and square. Wearing a gas mask, this young man dances to traditional Turkish music in front of Taksim Square’s Ataturk Monument.

  • In Gezi Park since March 31st, this protester, originally caught off-guard by the Government’s teargas and water cannons, went out and bought a Russian army mask from WWII, preparing for what was to come.

  • This rambunctious boy seems to be enjoying the chaos. After taking this picture he threw a stone at the already destroyed building in the background.

  • Forming a line, the police face off directly with protesters in Taksim Square. After a while, they retreated and there was a general cheer – a back-and-forth dance that has been common since the beginning of this protest.

  • An elderly woman in Gezi Park reads the news. The tent community occupying the park was violently destroyed on June 16th.

  • Many different groups had set up booths to promote their cause in Taksim Square and Gezi Park. Standing in front of one, this man waves his flag while posing with conviction.

  • Many home-remedies are used to minimize the effects of tear gas. This woman has put a milky solution on her face, removing her mask after the tear gas dissipated. Before sunrise, the police came again for another round of teargasing.

  • People capitalize on the uprising -- selling flags, beer, gas masks, sky lanterns and spray paint to name just a few of the popular items.

  • On Monday morning, June 11, the police execute a strong offensive. Many plain-clothed police officers, like the ones seen here, clash with protesters in the side streets away from the main stand-off in Taksim.

  • The authorities seem to be most aggressive in the night, pushing protesters away from the square and park. After being teargassed this young woman catches her breath with other protesters on Siraselviler Street.

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

More Related Stories

Comments

 32 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username ( settings | log out )

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: "We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves": Growing up primate

Recommendations