Bobby Jindal may not be ready for a presidential campaign.  The governor of Louisiana, whose first name is actually Piyush, gave a disappointing reply to President Obama's speech to a joint session of Congress.

Jindal's poor performance was a shock to those Republicans looking for an alternative to Governor Sarah Palin for the 2012 presidential nomination.  All polls show Palin the overwhelming favorite, but Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson pointed out:

"Jindal's résumé, intellectual confidence, and command of policy make him the anti-Palin.  Fairly or unfairly, media and intellectual elites (including some conservative elites) regard Gov. Sarah Palin as an inhabitant of another cultural planet.  Jindal, while also religious and conservative, speaks the language of the knowledge class. To journalists, policy experts, and Rhodes scholars, Jindal is also ‘one of us.'"

It would appear that Palin supporters do not have to worry. 

In an article at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090226/ap_on_re_us/panning_jindal the Associated Press reported, "But in both style and substance, Jindal's speech has drawn flak from Republicans and Democrats alike."

Fox News commentator Juan Williams said of Jindal's speech, "It came off as amateurish, and even the tempo in which he spoke was sing-songy." 

Erick Erickson on the conservative Red State blog agreed that Jindal's delivery was not good but liked the content. 

In fact, much of the content was superb.

Near the end of the speech, Jindal candidly admitted that the Republican Party, circa 2001-2008, had lost its way:

"Democratic leaders in Washington place their hope in the federal government. We place our hope in you-the American people.  In the end, it comes down to an honest and fundamental disagreement about the proper role of government.

"In recent years, these distinctions in philosophy became less clear-because our party got away from its principles.  You elected Republicans to champion limited government, fiscal discipline, and personal responsibility.  Instead, Republicans went along with earmarks and big government spending in Washington.  Republicans lost your trust-and rightly so.

"Tonight, on behalf of our leaders in Congress and my fellow Republican governors, I say: Our party is determined to regain your trust.  We will do so by standing up for the principles that we share-the principles you elected us to fight for."

Jindal did have one strong supporter-Rush Limbaugh, who had previously annointed the Louisiana governor as "the next Ronald Reagan."  After the speech, Limbaugh said, "I love Bobby Jindal and that did not change after last night." 

Limbaugh also said:

"I can understand the Democrats trashing the man. But the people on our side are really making a mistake if they go after Bobby Jindal on the basis of style.  Because if you think people on our side, I'm talking to you, those of you who think Jindal was horrible, in fact, I don't want to hear from you ever again."

The usually liberal Mother Jones magazine had a helpful suggestion for Jindal:

"Jindal ought to steal a move from Bill Clinton and seek salvation on Leno's set. In 1988, Bill Clinton, then a little-known Arkansas governor, delivered the keynote address at the Democrats' presidential convention. It was a horribly boring speech. He immediately became a national punchline.

"But Clinton moved fast to stop the bleeding.  He.quickly booked himself a spot on Johnny Carson's show. Clinton engaged in self-ribbing and made good sport of his abysmal performance.  Four years later, he was elected president of the United States.

"Can Jindal pull as deft a move?  At this stage, Leno is his best bet."