Bobby Jindal’s lacklustre address last week may perhaps have been the death knell for his future as the great hope for the GOP.
His national debut, which has been badly received by Republicans and Democrats alike, perhaps also gave the Republicans yet another well-needed lesson in how they use a politician’s minority status (in terms of their race, their gender and so on) to reach out to people and particularly in how to use them (or not) as an antidote to Obama.
There is no doubt that Jindal is a well qualified politician. He is well educated and has been rising up through Republican ranks quickly. But is he going to be the Republican’s Obama, in terms of his ability to reach out to and inspire all Americans and to generate that same kind of enthusiasm? No.
The Republicans seem to believe (mistakenly) that any non-white politician can do what Obama has done or that any minority can be used to appeal to other minorities. Michael Steele believes this. John McCain’s team believed that with Sarah Palin. I hope they are beginning to see that this is not how things work!
What really make the difference is the message. What is the person saying that is different from what we’ve heard before? Why would anyone be excited to hear Michael Steele spouting the same old stuff that they’ve heard from others before him when it’s that same message that turned them off in the first place? Why would Bobby Jindal talking about the type of politics that a great deal of people don’t think work be any more interesting than hearing, say, George Bush, talking about them?
These people need to say something that is going to make people stop and think. If not, why should the fact that they are black/Indian/child of immigrants/female etc make the blindest bit of difference? And if it doesn’t make a difference, then they should be not be billed as being fundamentally different because of their race or gender or other minority status.
If the person is saying something different, their minority status (gender/race etc) can be an embodiment of that message and thus make their impact greater. Obama talked about change, unity, a new America and so on and his being African-American was an embodiment of that message. Similarly, Hillary Clinton inspires other women because she has made huge strides career-wise and, when running for president, set forth an agenda which was progressive.
Wrapping an old sock in shiny packaging doesn’t make the old sock new. People can still smell it – and it turns them off. A new face needs a new message.
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