I remember the one time I met Gov. Bobby Jindal.The tech master of the theatre department at my high school was also a videographer for NFL Films, and he brought me on as a runner for a Saints game. I was given an All-Access Pass to the Louisiana Superdome and placed in charge of running — well, walking — back and forth, all around the Dome with a bag of old film and new batteries.Jindal was walking on the ground level, talking to a group of people. As I remember, he looked like a celebrity, giving out autographs and taking pictures with people. When I shook his hand, I thought he was a celebrity.I honestly thought he was Ray Romano.But no, this Indian-American and Rhodes Scholar was the next big thing in the state of Louisiana and, more importantly, the Republican Party.Six years ago I was 16, two years too young to vote for who I thought seemed like the most likeable Republican I’d ever seen. Jindal lost that election to former Gov. Kathleen Blanco, who would become Louisiana’s poster child for weakness in government when she cried on television in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.He was endorsed in that race not only by exiting Republican Gov. Mike Foster, but also Ray Nagin, Democratic mayor of New Orleans, as well as The Times-Picayune, New Orleans’ daily newspaper.Six years later, he’s the object of Rush Limbaugh’s affection and — depending on which blogs you read – the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012.I should have never supported him in the first place.Maybe, like most of the rest of the country, I supported him for being an ethnic, non-white Republican with a calm, assuring resolve in his voice, speaking with confidence and potentially signaling a change in how the party operates.In the end, my differences with Jindal are policy-based. He is pro-life with no exceptions for rape or incest, supports the teaching of intelligent design, has an A grade from the National Rifle Association and supports federal amendments banning both flag burning and gay marriage.Fast-forward to Mardi Gras night, to the speech the Big Easy ignored.I watched my biggest dreams and highest hopes achieved, the path to a better, more prosperous America being realized in the words of an eloquent statesman informing the country about the light at the end of the darkness.Then Jindal gave the response to President Obama.It felt like watching “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” after having dinner with Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali and Tiger Woods.I felt like I was at Disney World with no money, while Mickey Mouse gave me a tour about how a train connecting Las Vegas to Disney Land was wasteful and shouldn’t be included in a stimulus package — now defining Jindal as a hypocrite, with the Louisiana Transportation Department requesting $110 million for a train between Baton Rouge and New Orleans from the same $8 billion pot Jindal called pork-barrel spending on national television, according to The Times-Picayune.After giving the speech, Jindal heard his mouse impression and took his family to Disney World to refine his tone and pitch.I gave him the benefit of the doubt when, after campaigning on a platform of ethics reform, his first scandal involved ethics. I admired him when he selected the now virtually decrepit Kirby Smith Hall as the location of his transition office.But this past Mardi Gras, as the murder capital of the country suffered a bloody Carnival day, the leader of Louisiana sold out his citizens in the first of future attempts to coddle favor with Republican big-wigs to lead him closer to his ultimate goal — the 2012 Republican nomination.Maybe he’ll pick Goofy for VP.Eric Freeman, Jr. is a 22-year-old political science junior from New Orleans.—-Contact Eric Freeman Jr. at [email protected]