Giving The Response to the State of the Union - Honor or Punishment?

When Governor Bobby Jindal gave the response to the State of the Union speech it was not his greatest speech ever to say the least. This came as a shock to us in Louisiana where Jindal's greatest asset is often his speaking skills. He does well in speeches, he does well off the cuff , he does well one on one with people, and he has a hisotry of doing well in debates. Why was this different?

It appears though what Jindal went through is often the norm. The Politico has a good article on this with good quotes from folks from both parties that had to give the response. It might be America's toughest political speech to get right. Something that rarely happens. See Crafting the perfect response.