The stage-crafting was amateurish and the speech embarrassing. Jindal is smarter than the guy who criticized "volcano monitoring" as an example of wasteful spending in the stimulus bill, prompting the same cringe reflex that Sarah Palin did when she targeted silly ol' spending -- in France, no less -- on fruit fly research that is, in fact, crucial to medical research.

Volcano monitoring may not be a top priority for creating jobs and stimulating credit, which is doubtless what Jindal's speechwriter meant, but it does save lives. Jindal's rendering of a spending eruption metaphor (get it?) merely gave Democrats yet another opportunity to question Republicans' understanding of science and the role of government in protecting the public good.

Being the smartest person in the room can be a mixed blessing. Whether it is advantage or handicap for a brainy candidate depends on having the right people around him. At the moment, Jindal seems to be handicapped by handlers who either don't trust their candidate or have no faith in Americans' intelligence.

In coaching him to dim the lights a tad, they stole his spark. Dumbing down doesn't come naturally to wunderkinds like Jindal. In trying to sound human, he sounds fake. In attempting to convey everydayness, he comes across as an extraterrestrial.

Tuesday's speech was a setback, much like Bill Clinton's droning 1988 Democratic convention speech, but hardly a career-ender. When Jindal apparently slipped his collar and resurfaced Wednesday morning on the "Today" show, the Rhodes Scholar Jindal (who was accepted to both Yale and Harvard medical and law schools) was back.

He dropped his "I'm-just-a-regular-guy" shtick and managed to articulate his conservative principles without putting the audience in mind of cookies and milk. Praising Obama's objectives -- while conceding that Republicans have lost fiscal credibility -- he emphasized his preference for policies that help businesses create jobs rather than government programs he fears will require a taxpayer feeding tube in perpetuity.

It's a shame that Tuesday was Jindal's first introduction to many Americans, who won't have a clear picture of the man. It's also a shame he and Obama aren't on the same team. Although they differ strenuously on social issues and the role government should play in problem-solving, they are temperamentally similar. Most important, both are pragmatists who promise to seek solutions that work, rather than be bound by ideology. It would be heartening to watch these two serious thinkers craft real bipartisan solutions to our economic troubles. One can fantasize.

At just 37, Jindal needs seasoning, but again, like Obama, he's a quick study. Lesson No. 1: Governor, fire your staff and retool. A majority of Americans have demonstrated that they'll vote for the smart guy, even if he talks too fast.