(This account of "Bobby" Jindal's political and, as it were, religious formation during the 1990s is required reading for those who desire to understand how and why this conflicted human being has ensconced himself behind an infinite regression of masks. In the interest of full disclosure, the only party with whom LAMediaWatch collaborated when researching and preparing this essay was me. No other person, group or organization is responsible for the content of this text. - promoted by pointecoupeedemocrat)
Background: When the Louisiana Democratic Party announced their intentions to air a series of television commercials about gubernatorial candidate Bobby Jindal, the Jindal campaign immediately went into damage control mode. Tim Teepell, Jindal’s campaign manager, rushed out an e-mail claiming that Democrats would be launching an ad that “attacks Bobby for his Christian Faith (sp).” WAFB initially reported that one of the ads concerned Jindal’s published account of an exorcism he witnessed (and arguably, participated in) while an undergraduate at Brown University. The Louisiana Democratic Party later clarified that the commercial did not concern Jindal’s “exorcism” story. Ironically, the preemptive damage control efforts by Mr. Teepell have unintentionally piqued interest in this story. Currently, a Google search for “Bobby Jindal exorcism” yields over 300 results from both newspapers and blogs. Relevance: Before addressing the specifics of the story, one must account for its relevance and significance. A handful of conservatives are now uncharacteristically claiming that Jindal’s faith should not be an issue. Of course, when the tables are turned, faith always seems to be an issue. A few months ago, Fox News ran an erroneous story about Barack Obama’s elementary school, implying Obama attended some sort of training school for young Muslim terrorists, and although the story is bogus and has since been retracted, some conservatives continue to argue that Obama is actually a Muslim. In Mr. Jindal’s case, however, the facts are clear. Mr. Jindal wrote the story himself, and when he was a Rhodes Scholar, his story, “Beating a Demon: Physical Dimensions of Spiritual Warfare,” was published in the December 1994 edition of the New Oxford Review. As a two-time candidate for Louisiana Governor, Mr. Jindal should certainly understand that his published writing, particularly an essay published in an esteemed journal, is relevant for discussion. However, judging by his campaign’s response, he is clearly embarrassed or unwilling to speak about an experience that, only thirteen years prior, he enthusiastically shared with the readership of the New Oxford Review. Faith may be personal, but it is intellectually dishonest for anyone to suggest that the voters of Louisiana do not have the right to read and question a published essay written by Mr. Jindal, a candidate for governor. The Jindal campaign’s hard-line approach against those who question this essay is also troubling. They have attempted to suggest that Mr. Jindal’s published essay about an exorcism is inherently off-limits because it concerns his “personal faith.” Yet, on the campaign trail, Mr. Jindal frequently speaks about his personal faith, and he would certainly admit that his faith guides his legislative decisions. One must assume, therefore, that Mr. Jindal believes his faith can only be discussed when it is politically expedient. Otherwise, questions about his faith are off-limits, even if they concern his own published work.
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