JINDAL: After Obama's speech, prime time for Bobby Jindal

[See SAJAforum's extensive collection of Bobby Jindal posts, including a special one-hour webcast ABOUT Jindal on the first anniversary of his taking office]

UPDATE: A screengrab from 10:25 pm ET. Standing by for transcript. What did YOU think? Post in the comments section below!

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On Tuesday, Feb. 23, at 9 pm ET, President Obama makes the equivalent of "The State of the Union" address to Congress (this is not an official SOTU speech - those happen each January starting with the second year of a presidency). All eyes will be on Washington, D.C., as he discusses the landscape as he sees it.

Immediately following his speech, the official Republican reply/rejoinder/rebuttal will be delivered by Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. This is a sign of the amount of importance the Republican leadership places on Jindal right now, especially as he has cast himself as opposed to portions of Obama's stimlus bill (more on that below).

By my reckoning, Jindal will be the first South Asian politician to have the full attention of all major TV news outlets for a prime-time talk like this. He would have had a similar opportunity at the 2008 Republican Convention where he was to make a prime-time appearance, but was unable to do so when Hurricane Gustav upended the beginning of the festivities.

Here is an excerpt from an MSNBC piece about the ads Jindal is running to highlight his response (though the traffic to BobbyJindal.com/sotu appears to have overrun the servers as I write this):

The ads highlight ambitiousness on one hand -- raising Jindal's profile two years out from re-election and three years from the presidential election -- as well as Web savviness on the other. The Republican Party has talked about getting younger and trying to make up ground with Obama on the tech front. This is at least one sign that Jindal is trying to show he recognizes that and is ahead of the curve.

Today's NYT editorial, "What Part of 'Stimulus' Don't They Get," highlights Jindal's increasing profile:

What makes these bad decisions worse is that they are little more than political posturing by rising Republican stars, like Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina. This behavior reinforces the disturbing conclusion that the Republican Party seems more interested in ideological warfare than in working on policies that get the country back on track. <snip>Governors like Mr. Jindal should be worrying about how to end this recession while helping constituents feed and house their families — not about finding ways to revive tired election-year arguments about big spending versus small government.

In addition to the SOTU appearance, he was a headliner this past Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," the most influential news interview show. Here's the video:

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Here is an alert from Kishan Putta, who was the most visible South Asian on the McCain team about tonight's activities. He's a great source for all things Republican and South Asian.

Friends,

Please do not forget to tune-in on Tuesday night (2/24) to watch Governor Bobby Jindal give the nationally-televised prime-time response to President Obama's "state of the union" address.

No Indian-American has ever commanded the nation's attention in prime-time on all TV networks.  It is a landmark moment for our nation and our community -- and we hope it will not only raise awareness and support for Gov. Jindal, but also more civic engagement and political participation in the Indian-American and Asian-American communities...

Please invite your friends over to your homes or gather at your cultural centers, college lounges, and local establishments to witness this important event -- starting at 9pm eastern, 8pm central, 7pm mountain, 6pm pacific - the Governor's response will follow the President's address.

There will be bipartisan viewings across the country including one here in Washington, DC at the Front Page (1333 New Hampshire Ave., NW, Dupont Circle, in the "Back Bar") -- political leaders, community leaders, supporters, and press of all ethnic backgrounds will all be in attendance.  Let us know if you are putting something together in your area.

Please pass this on to anyone and everyone.

Thank you.  Best Wishes.  God Bless America.

Truly,
Kishan Putta
Washington, DC
323-841-2861
kishanputta[at]gmail.

p.s.- You may also wish to join the Facebook group of "Indian-Americans For Jindal"...  If you are not already enrolled in Facebook, please take this opportunity to go to www.Facebook.com and start an account -- it will give you new ways to stay politically active online.

p.p.s.- You can also review Gov. Jindal's remarks on Meet The Press this morning at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032608/

Post your comments below.

[See SAJAforum's extensive collection of Bobby Jindal posts, including a special one-hour webcast ABOUT Jindal on the first anniversary of his taking office]