Salon misses the point on Jindal...it's not his ethnicity that's determined his "electibility."

[Amerigo Vespucci]

The article is valid, granted...but Jindal is a bad example, because when you strip away the discussion of his ethnicity, the man is an idiot.

If you type "Jindal not ready for prime time" into your favorite search engines, you'll see SCORES of articles come up with summary lines like "Did anyone else watch Bobby Jindal's response to Obama's speech the other day and think that this guy is not even remotely ready to challenge for the White House in 2012?"

So in all fairness, YES...let's take a look at how candidates are forced to deal with ethnicity in their campaigns, but let's be fair...Bobby Jindal is an idiot because he is an idiot, not because he is an idiot named Piyush Amrit Jindal who threw a "Bobby" in there to please to the masses who want him to be "American," even though he is American born. That part sucks, that part's not fair, agreed.

But that's a separate issue. He's not an Indian-American idiot. He's an idiot. Period. If he came from a different planet, he'd be the idiot from a different planet. No matter where he goes or where he's from or what he puts on his business card, the man is a frigging idiot.

:patriot:

2010 Elections
Thursday, Aug 19, 2010 11:01 ET
For Indian-American pols, the "What are you?" test
How "American" do you need to be to win an election?

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/2010_elections/index.html?story=/news/feature/2010/08/19/indian_americans_politics



By Anika Anand

She Anglicized her name, became a Christian, and was heralded as a Mama Grizzly by Sarah Palin -- and now Nikki Haley is the overwhelming favorite to be the next Republican governor of South Carolina.

"You learn to try and show people how you’re more alike than you are different," Haley, who was born Nimrata Randhala Haley into an Indian Sikh family, admitted to the New York Times earlier this year.

Bobby Jindal, raised in an Indian Hindu family in Baton Rouge, changed his name and converted to Catholicism. Now, Louisiana’s Republican governor is regarded as a potential candidate for his party’s presidential nomination.

When asked by "60 Minutes" last year if they follow any Indian traditions, Jindal and his wife insisted that "we were raised as Americans, we were raised as Louisianans, so that’s how we live our lives."

There’s no doubt that the religious conversions of Haley and Jindal, the two most prominent Indian-American politicians, have powerful personal and spiritual roots. But it’s also inarguable that being Christians with Anglicized names has made it easier for them to create bonds with the overwhelmingly white and deeply religious voters who dominate Republican politics in the South.

That basic imperative, to project an identity that voters aren’t threatened by, is one that all minority candidates in all regions of the country can relate to. But for Indian-Americans, who are only now stepping into American politics in sizable numbers, figuring out how to do so is still a work in progress.

[DatManFromNawlins]

1. Bobby Jindal could effortlessly think circles around you...

... the man is flawed, but an idiot he certainly is not.

[KamaAina]

2. That's the problem with Booby

he thinks in circles.

How exactly did an Ivy League biology major end up in the creationist camp, anyway? :wtf:

[Amerigo Vespucci]

3. Bulllshit, but thanks for sharing

Glad to see you know so much about me. Have a nice day and goodbye.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

6. Oh look, another Jindal fanboy.

How's that volcano alert thing working out for you?

[KamaAina]

4. Bit of sloppy reporting there.

Haley is her married name. Her original surname is Randhala.

And if anyone on the right were to object to its use, I'd remind them of the stink they raised when Hillary Rodham Clinton tried to use her given surname.

[JustAnotherGen]

5. See

Now think that Jindal's political perspective is idiotic. But at risk of sounding like VP Biden . . . he's well educated and articulate.

He might even be "clean as a whistle".

But those things don't discount the fact that I believe he's a hypocrite with a dumb assed political ideology.