At that point, Jindal could apply for grants like these without looking like a comical, shameless hypocrite.

Wouldn't that be easier than all of this embarrassment?

You know what would be even easier? Take the money and just deny being a comical, shameless hypocrite. Conservatives do it every day and get away with it.

-all of this embarrassment?

Benen forgets a basic rule of the English language: One cannot use the word "embarrassment" and "Republican" in the same sentence. . .

Republicans have to pass the Comical, Shameless Hypocrite test before they can move on to Barefaced Lying. Once they get that under their belts they move on to Christian Posturing which enables the all-important Serial Adultery course.

The governor should just be upfront about this, apologize for trashing the stimulus bill, acknowledge he was wrong, and explain how important recovery efforts are to states like his.

But for Jindal, Supply-side Economics is a matter of faith! He could no more admit that there are other ways of stimulating the economy than cutting the taxes of millionaires than he, as a conservative Catholic and amateur exorcist, could admit that Jesus wasn't the son of god.

We should be giving Jindal credit for ultimately sticking to his principles, but at the same time we need to loudly point out that his principles are wrong.

Jindal began the application process for federal high-speed rail funds, presumably, because he thought such a project would benefit the State of Louisiana.

But, it got in the way of the anti-government message he hopes to ride into the Oval Office in, most likely, 2016.

So, what was a good idea before the public ridicule gets dropped to spare His Excellency some embarrassment.

Who, exactly, is Jindal working for? It ain't the people of Louisiana.

If it was Jindal's desire to send the message "I'm more interested in playing partisan politics than I am in sensible policy solutions", then he did a fantastic job. That's clearly the message he's sending here.

Who, exactly, is Jindal working for? It ain't the people of Louisiana.

Let's hope they realize that. . .

As a leading Republican contender for 2012 his best shot at bolstering his gravitas is by getting caught hiking the Appalachia trail. God knows after seeing pictures of it I'd hike it. Two or three times a day for at least a week or two.

Consistency:Republicans::Garlic:Vampires

@Davis: Thanks for my SAT laugh of the day! That was great. . .

Gosh Steve, you're so right. Olberman is held in such High esteem by Jindal that he obviously was shamed into cancelling the funds.
Gee, maybe Olby could make Obama the "Worst Person In The World" because of the continuation of Bush's wars and the lack of testicular fortitude in the health care debacle.
I'll bet Barack would be shamed into seeing how wrong he is acting. He would see the light, pass the single payer health care for ALL (even Canadiens and Mexicans) and get our boys home.
Can world peace be possible? Only if Olby wants it and can find the right people to mock. GO KEITH!

"All publicity is good publicity." Jindal figures he can ride stupidity and celebrity a long way, same as Schwarzenegger and Ventura.

Nothing mysterious here-- Jindal is an ambitious Republican politician, so he has to have good relations with the wackos. If that means the people of Louisiana get shafted now and then, well, c'est la vie.

The scariest part, to me at least, is that by repealing his request for high-speed rail funds, Mr. Jindal has now publicly declared to all in his state and across the nation that that he prioritizes his own political future over the health and well-being of the people of Louisiana.

What a sad little man.

"mocked Gov. Bobby Jindal for possibly requesting federal stimulus money to build a light rail system"

Possibly? Weasel words. Did he or didn't he request federal money for a HSR?

Bobby's not running Louisiana, he's running for President.

And I would propose a smarter move for Jindal - be a pragmatist. He should explain that he was opposed to the stimulus spending in general, but now that it's approved, he's working to make sure the money is well spent and fairly allocated to the state he represents.

It wouldn't work on anyone who really thinks about it - high speed rail be Los Angeles / OC (America's second largest metropolitan area) to Las Vegas (America's fastest growing metro area and one of it's busiest travel hubs) would seem to make a lot of sense. It would create and environmentally friendly, faster than car travel route between two cities that are close enough that it's a great alternative to flying. There's a heck of a lot of car travel between the two cities, a decent high speed rail link would be well utilized. (I know several friends who drive to Vegas several times a year.) There's also a lot of convention traffic, and tourism and business traffic from LV to LA.

That said, I haven't done the math to decide if it's a great idea - I just know it beats the heck out of Baton Rouge to New Orleans.

I'm sure the White House would be gracious about the whole thing.

Obama's graciousness to his enemies is one of his worst qualities. He'd probably double the funds and throw in a tax cut.

All right, a little devil's advocate here. Yes, Jindal is a punk, swept up in the tsunami of putrefied sewage known as modern conservatism. And Olbermann, while his schtick has tired somewhat, fights the good fight.

But in terms of the citizens of LA, and in terms of reducing carbon and particulate emissions, and in terms of "moving the country forward," wouldn't everything have been better off if the project were full steam ahead? Is inflicting political damage more important than effective outcomes? Is forcing Jindal even further to the dark side really the best possible course of action? (Yes he's a punk, but perhaps a punk capable of growth and adjustment, perhaps better positioned as OUR punk). How does this benefit anyone or anything except Olbermann's reputation as a white knight clashing heroically with evil, and my desire for schadenfreude? Would it really hurt so much to allow Jindal his private moment of reversal, perhaps point out (if at all) how he seems to be working for the people of LA? Yeah, I know, sniping's easy and hindsight has 20/20, but maybe...maybe his move towards sanity, no matter how politically expedient, might be noted as such. Just sayin'......

Fides: And I would propose a smarter move for Jindal - be a pragmatist.

Yeah, but he's planning to run in the Republican presidential primary, so pragmatism isn't exactly the kind of reputation he needs to build.

Eric wrote: [Jindal] "prioritizes his own political future over the health and well-being of the people of Louisiana."

That seems to be the way it is with all of these Republican govs. Two examples: Palin rejects stimulus funds to help Alaska's poor get heating fuel in the winter, Sanford rejects much-needed education funds... etc, etc, etc... just to endear themselves to the wacky base.

Of course, since then, both Palin and Sanford have trashed their political futures.

"And I would propose a smarter move for Jindal - be a pragmatist. He should explain that he was opposed to the stimulus spending in general, but now that it's approved, he's working to make sure the money is well spent and fairly allocated to the state he represents."

Exactly what I was thinking. Why can't Jindal just say, "I think the stimulus was unwise because it creates such a large burden of debt for the future, but given that Louisianans will have to share in that future burden, they may as well share in the current benefits"? There's nothing hypocritical about that. It is, as Fides said, simply pragmatic: "I will oppose for as long as opposition might prevent a bad thing from happening, but once it happens, I'm going to find the silver lining."

I'd once thought Jindal might be a worthy opponent to Obama because his resume made him look smart, but he doesn't seem to have much common sense.

Gracious? Hell, Obama would probably announce that Jindal is on his short list of Supreme Court nominees- and he'd mean it.

Of course, he'd be sure to that his bestest buddies Charles Grassley and Orin Hatch were on board before he did. The president is a man who just hates ruffling GOP feathers.

One wonders what is chiropractor bill must look like. With all the bending back and forth, his back must be a pretzel by now

Anyone who has ever visited Baton Rouge and its neighboring smog belt will understand why folks would want to get out of it just as quickly as possible. High speed rail, high speed space shuttle, being shot out of a cannon, whatever it takes to escape that dismal burg.

Why anyone would want to RETURN there remains a mystery.