Jindal's "Chief Success- So Far- Has Been Spin"
by Mark Ballard - Advocate (excerpt)

Health Reform Links Jindal, Obama

Regardless of how historic the moment Tuesday, history ultimately will judge whether Obama — and Jindal — are brave enough to risk pushing proposals that actually change things. Obama is just starting.

Jindal entered his second year last week. His chief success — so far — has been spin. National pundits, for instance, laud Jindal for whacking away $341 million from the state budget. But they fail to realize that what really happened was the elimination of jobs that state government, for the most part, couldn’t fill anyway, and money it couldn’t, for the most part, spend.

On the one issue where the governor has taken a bold stand — health care — Jindal has kept a remarkably low profile. He appeared only once before a state legislative committee. Even when right-wing columnist Cal Thomas, ace of the slow-pitch league, laid big fat ones across the plate, Jindal barely mentioned health care. Maybe the brewing health-care debate will be for Jindal the point where — to quote the governor from his conversation with columnist Thomas — we “stop worrying about the messenger and start worrying about substance.”