Jindal recalls Indian roots to assert America will overcome

Wednesday, 25 February 2009, 20:08 IST   |    2 Comments
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Washington: America will overcome its crisis, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has asserted, drawing upon his personal experience as the son of an Indian immigrant. Offering the Republican rebuttal to President Barack Obama's first speech to a joint session of Congress Tuesday night, Jindal - who became the first Indian American chief executive of a U.S. state - criticised the new president for suggesting a few weeks ago that "America is facing a crisis that he (Obama) said 'we may not be able to reverse'." "Our troubles are real, to be sure. But don't let anyone tell you that we cannot recover - or that America's best days are behind her," he said. Drawing on his personal narrative, Jindal recalled: "As I grew up, my mom and dad taught me the values that attracted them to this country - and they instilled in me an immigrant's wonder at the greatness of America. "As a child, I remember going to the grocery store with my dad. Growing up in India, he had seen extreme poverty. And as we walked through the aisles, looking at the endless variety on the shelves, he would tell me: 'Bobby, Americans can do anything.' I still believe that to this day." He criticised Obama's massive stimulus plan to kick start the economy but, touting a spirit of bipartisanship, said: "Republicans are ready to work with the new president to provide those solutions." "We need more of that attitude from both Democrats and Republicans in our nation's capital. All of us want our economy to recover and our nation to prosper. "So where we agree, Republicans must be the president's strongest partners. And where we disagree, Republicans have a responsibility to be candid and offer better ideas for a path forward."
Source: IANS
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