Here are two more guys who will never be president.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal may be the smartest and most well-credentialed of any of the candidates running for president from either party. He was a Rhodes Scholar, ran Louisiana’s Department of Health at age 24, then served as a top official in the federal Department of Health and Human Services, followed by his election to the U.S. House and finally the governorship in 2007.

But all indications are that Jindal, who formally launched his campaign Wednesday, is a very long shot to win the White House in 2016. Jindal was widely panned in 2009 for his flat, dull speech when he was the Republican designated to respond to President Obama’s State of the Union address. And he has never recovered.

Republicans aren’t any more excited about him now than they were when he flirted with running in 2012. Both then and now, top donors and officials in the party, while rarely publicly criticizing Jindal, have simply embraced other candidates.

To give you an idea of how earth-shattering Gov. Jindal’s entrance to the race is, check out the banner headline from the New York Times:

He’s got George Pataki scared, I’ll bet.

And then there’s former Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) who thinks we should give the Confederate battle flag the benefit of the doubt.

This is an emotional time and we all need to think through these issues with a care that recognizes the need for change but also respects the complicated history of the Civil War. The Confederate Battle Flag has wrongly been used for racist and other purposes in recent decades. It should not be used in any way as a political symbol that divides us.

But we should also remember that honorable Americans fought on both sides in the Civil War, including slave holders in the Union Army from states such as Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland and Delaware, and that many non-slave holders fought for the South. It was in recognition of the character of soldiers on both sides that the federal government authorized the construction of the Confederate Memorial 100 years ago, on the grounds of Arlington National Cemetery.

This is a time for us to come together, and to recognize once more that our complex multicultural society is founded on the principle of mutual respect.

Thanks for playing, guys.  We have some lovely parting gifts for you.