Jindal On Track

Keith Olbermann reported on his MSNBC show yesterday that Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal, after having ridiculed President Obama for advocating funding for more high-speed passenger rail, recently signed his state up for . . . money for a high-speed passenger rail line. Olbermann chastised Jindal for hypocrisy, but I won't. I'm glad to welcome Jindal aboard. I'll happily cheer on any elected official who invests in high-speed passenger rail, as the United States sorely lacks in that arena - among other things - and we need more of it.

Well, Acela isn't exactly like the bullet trains American railfans experience abroad.

Also, I have to confess: I loved Trent Lott. Sure, the Mississippi Republican was backward on race issues and had plastic hair, but he was also one of Amtrak's biggest supporters in the Senate. I even wrote him letter once commending him for his support for the national passenger railroad.

If a politician supports bullet trains for Amtrak, that politician will have my backing. A pro-Amtrak politician would have to be pretty despicable not to have my support.

So don't try to sweet-talk me with railfan banter, Sarah Palin.