I confess. After President Obama's address last night, the place I watched it at closed right before Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal's response. So I'm confined to the blogs and Twitter, but even conservatives are saying his delivery needs work.

New York Times columnist David Brooks called it "stale" and "insane" and "a disaster for the Republican Party." (h/t Ben Smith, Politico)

That's unfortunate for Jindal, considering what Brooks told me last week.

Are there other evangelicals you would like to see more of?

I liked Mike Huckabee's campaign. There [are] a bunch of governors who are committed Christians as well as very modern, sophisticated politicians like Bobby Jindal in Louisiana. The people will naturally emerge, I think.

Over at Beliefnet, Rod Dreher makes a religious comparison.

Bobby Jindal was a total disappointment. He was badly over-rehearsed; Matthew, my kid, watched with me and said, "He sounds totally artificial. He sounds like a televangelist." I can't improve on that description. It sounded like that to me too.

On the other hand, Mike Gerson writes on a more positive note for the Washington Post.

It is also an indication of what has been called the "ecumenism of the trenches" -- the remarkable alliance between evangelicals and Catholics on moral issues such as abortion and family values against an aggressive secularism. ... If Jindal runs for president in three or seven years, he will be widely viewed as an evangelical choice.

There is an interesting similarity between Jindal and Kenneth from 30 Rock I couldn't help noticing.

Update: A few of our Twitter followers responded to this blog post. Here are a few replies:

tnhuckaby@CTmagazine I thought he did fine.
sherylshearer@CTmagazine So one poor performance ruins a politician? Plueeze. Way to show grace.
bwscoles@CTmagazine Too bad you printed this. Jindal's strength is substance not delivery. Seems for a "Christian" mag, that should be your focus.

Update #2: Turns out, I wasn't the only one who thought 30 Rock's Kenny and Jindal had some similarities. Here's Kenny's response to the Internet's response to Jindal's response to Obama's speech.

Posted by Sarah Pulliam at February 25, 2009 | Comments (12)

Fred Thompson dropped his bid to lead the Republican National Committee and will return to acting, the Associated Press reports.

During his candidacy, Thompson told voters he didn't attend church and said he would not talk about religion on the campaign. He received an endorsement from the National Right to Life, but dropped out after a limp reception in the primaries.

Posted by Sarah Pulliam at November 21, 2008 | Comments (1)

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee mocks a few of his fellow Republicans - including a few evangelicals - in his book being released tomorrow.

Time magazine reports that the sharpest words go to Huckabee's former rival, Mitt Romney, who Huckabee describes as "anything but conservative until he changed the light bulbs in his chandelier in time to run for president."

Michael Scherer writes that Huckabee's book, Do the Right Thing: Inside the Movement That's Bringing Common Sense Back to America, "spared neither the rod nor the lash" for many conservative Christian leaders.

Huckabee writes of Gary Bauer, the conservative Christian leader and former presidential candidate, as having an "ever-changing reason to deny me his support." Of one private meeting with Bauer, Huckabee says, "It was like playing Whac-a-Mole at the arcade — whatever issue I addressed, another one surfaced as a 'problem' that made my candidacy unacceptable." He also accuses Bauer of putting national security before bedrock social issues like the sanctity of life and traditional marriage.

Huckabee calls out Pat Robertson for endorsing Rudy Giuliani and Dr. Bob Jones III for endorsing Romney. He says he spoke to the Rev. John Hagee by phone before the Texas pastor endorsed John McCain. "I asked if he had prayed about this and believed this was what the Lord wanted him to do," Huckabee writes. "I didn't get a straight answer."

Huckabee also describes the Arlington Group as "more enamored with the process, the political strategies, and the party hierarchy than with the simple principles that had originally motivated the Founders." Later, he writes, "I lamented that so many people of faith had moved from being prophetic voices — like Naaman, confronting King David in his sin and saying, 'Thou art the man!' — to being voices of patronage, and saying to those in power, 'You da' man!' "

Posted by Sarah Pulliam at November 17, 2008 | Comments (24)