There’s a lot of schaedenfreude on the net this morning about Bobby Jindal’s absolutely abysmal performance last night — more than one commentator gleefully noted that he sounded just like Kenneth the page on 30 Rock.

Yes he was bad. In fact, bad doesn’t even begin to describe it.  But don’t assume that last night’s disaster represents an  end to Jindal’s candidacy.  He’s a bright guy who, despite his troglodytic social views, has been a fairly good governor.  He has a track record to run on, even if he didn’t talk about it in his speech.  As Michael Gerson notes in this morning’s WaPo (in a piece clearly put to bed before Jindal spoke),

At a recent meeting of conservative activists, Jindal had little to say about his traditional social views or compelling personal story. Instead, he uncorked a fluent, substantive rush of policy proposals and achievements, covering workforce development, biodiesel refineries, quality assurance centers, digital media, Medicare parts C and D, and state waivers to the CMS (whatever that is). . . . Jindal has the ability to overwhelm any topic with facts and thoughtful arguments — displaying a mastery of detail that encourages confidence.

Of course, none of that came out in last night’s speech.  Instead, it contained a mix of far right platitudes to limited government and weirdly inappropriate metaphors and anecdotes (whoever told him to talk about Katrina should be fired immediately).  Had he instead matched Obama wonk for wonk, he might have been on far firmer ground.

In addition, bad speeches do not necessarily translate into political death.  Perhaps the best example of this is Bill Clinton, whose speech to the 1988 Democratic National Convention was widely regarded as one of the worst speeches ever given at a convention:

If you believe Bill Clinton was always a great communicator, find the video of his speech to the 1988 Democratic National Convention in Atlanta.  He delivered a long, rambling and boring lecture that got the biggest applause when he said “In conclusion.”  Many wrote him off as a player in national politics, because he failed to connect with the audience.

Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t find the speech online — but we all know what happened.  The poor guy.  Too bad we never heard from him again.

So don’t start celebrating the end of Jindal’s political career just yet.

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