Presumptive republican presidential nominee John McCain makes no bones about Gov. Bobby Jindal's place of prominence on his list of potential vice presidents. Republicans across the country have faith in Jindal's potential to appeal to young men and women for whom Ronald Reagan is less than a memory, citing Jindal's moderately successful first steps to exorcise the devils of past corruption from Louisiana's body politic.
Republican enthusiasm isn't misplaced. Ethics reform was far from the first time Jindal tried his hands at exorcism - and thankfully for all the men and women involved, Jindal was just as much a prodigy in matters of faith as he is in politics.
Jindal described his first experience as an exorcist in the December 1994 issue of the New Oxford Review - a Catholic journal that proudly proclaims Karl Keating's designation as "Catholicism's Intellectual Prizefighter" in the Internet edition of its masthead.
The essay, modestly dubbed "Beating a Demon: Physical Dimensions of Spiritual Warfare," tells the story of a young Catholic convert from Hinduism named Bobby Jindal. It details his growing acceptance of the literal reality of "spirits, angels, and other related phenomena that I can neither touch nor see."
The catalyst of this event is an exorcism performed by the leaders of several nondenominational Christian groups, including Jindal. The essay reads like a G-rated version of William Peter Blatty's "The Exorcist." It contrasts Jindal's internal conflicts of faith with the external physical restraints the students placed on the unfortunate girl while her demons were cast out.
When the girl tried to break out of her friends' grasp, a brandished crucifix and the recitation of Bible verses succeeded where force had failed.
The girl, who Jindal calls "Susan" in the article, was diagnosed with malignant skin cancer. Jindal cites Susan's despair and fear as a probable cause for the demonic possession, though he notes her roommate's pagan dorm room decorations. He also writes about rumors that Susan's mother engaged in idol worship and animal sacrifice in the Far East that may have had something to do with the possession.
Thankfully, the ordeal didn't seem to be too much of a drag - with the demon cast out, Susan reaffirmed her faith in Christ and submitted to the surgery that would remove her cancer.
Jindal's account of Susan's operation is par for the course.
"When the operation occurred, the surgeons found no traces of cancerous cells," Jindal wrote. "Susan claimed she had felt healed after the group prayer and can remember the sensation of being 'purified'; she saw her physical and spiritual afflictions as being related. The physician's improbable explanation that the biopsy may have removed all the cancerous tissue is no less far-fetched."
I suppose after casting out demons, the governor's ability to lay on hands and cure cancer should seem nothing short of pedestrian.
It's not my place to claim Jindal doesn't believe the truth of what he wrote - nor should he as a writer. It's not my place to claim the power of prayer isn't real or that it can't change lives. Though the studies performed reveal prayer has no appreciable affect on a patient's recovery from disease and illness do give my skepticism credence, faith is ultimately a personal matter.
But I can say, with some authority, Jindal's exploits as a college exorcist and faith healer suggest Jindal is far less suited to be vice president of the United States than he is to be the head of the Catholic Church's Holy Inquisition.
It's hard to respect the separation of church and state when the first line on your resume is your one-man war on Satan. As an American who values our nation's republican prerogatives, this a fair concern about our governor's ability to lead the country.
This doesn't have to be a negative, though. Jindal's selection would be an unequivocal symbol of McCain's acquiescence to the Republican evangelical community - important, given McCain's predilection for begging for their favor before throwing their preachers to the lions of the press.
But I'm not sure this is the answer to McCain's prayers. While Jindal's undeniable and extensive experience in personally casting out demons would bring McCain's candidacy more credibility in the charismatic Christian community, I'm not sure how God would feel about the selection.
Would Jindal still have time to defend the faith "with holy water and blessed crucifixes" - as he did on the one occasion when his friend Susan's demon reappeared - while stumping from town to town? Putting Jindal one heartbeat away from the presidency would remove one of God's chosen warriors from the front line of the battle against Armageddon.
At 72 years old, the last thing McCain needs to do is start his presidential campaign off on the wrong foot with the man upstairs.
---- Contact Neal Hebert at nhebert@lsureveille.com
