Maginnis: Exorcism nothing to get exercised over

Published Aug 7, 2012 at 3:00 pm (Updated Aug 7, 2012)

As parents prepare to send their kids off to college, no doubt they worry about what dangers lurk on and off campus: binge drinking, drugs, unprotected sex, psychotic roommates, Communist professors—hazards abound. Their fears are not wholly misplaced, for they have seen before how some crazy college experience, even innocent, can follow one the rest of his or her life. Ask Gov. Bobby Jindal. For all the words to have rushed from his mouth and keyboard, none have been as scrutinized as—or might affect his future career more than—an article he wrote about watching a dorm-room exorcism while a student at Brown University. Even the governor's lame national-debut TV speech in 2009 was more panned for his singsong delivery than for what he said, which no one remembers. "Beating a Demon: Physical Dimensions of Spiritual Warfare," which Jindal wrote for New Oxford Review in 1994, has spawned scores of news stories, columns, radio and TV commentaries, even a few YouTube videos (the governor's press secretary called one "insane"). The article now is frequently cited in speculation about its effect on his chances of becoming Mitt Romney's running mate. Responses from pundits range from "can't help" to "deal killer." Some call it a minor strike against Jindal, compared to his inability to deliver a strategic state. Others, like LSU's Bob Mann, an author and former press secretary for top Democrats, consider the episode fatal. Read the full column here.

(John Maginnis publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com.)