Peggy Noonan: His Delicious, Mansard-Roofed World

Opinion Journal ^ | 10/26/2001 | Peggy Noonan

[Pokey78]

Faith, effort and love will get through this trying time.

I found the words on a yellow Post-It I'd stuck on the side of the bookcase in my office about a year ago. It had gotten covered up by phone numbers and pictures and doctor's appointment cards, and yesterday, looking for a number, I found it--a piece of yellow paper with the words "His delicious mansard-roofed world." It took me aback. And I remembered what it was.

[Pokey78]

Ping & indexed.

[cgk]

gracious.

BUMP!

Mrs Kus

[prognostigaator]

another pleasurable Noonan read....

[Pokey78]

Ping.

[Miss Marple]

Thanks Pokey! Peggy is right to remind us of that movie "Mrs. Miniver." I recommend everyone watch it. Then, while everyone in Washington gets their act together (some are doing better than others), we can do what we were prophetically called to do on Inauguration Day, "To be citizens, not spectators."

[x]

Huh? Whuh? Whazza? Oh -- Er, marvelous article by -- er, uh, ... Wha? No I wann't sleepin'. I was just in a dreamy, contemplative mood. Her delicious, mansard-roofed prose puts me in that mood.

[LadyDoc]

bump

For the early morning risers.

Peggy noonan has a way with words.

[Psalm 73]

"Peggy noonan has a way with words."

As I read her I can see her little head-tilts and hear her softly sigh.
And she always reminds me of why I loved listening to Ronald Reagan so much - they both have a way of making me feel warm and secure, and that everything will be allright because Mom, or Dad is right here, now just relax...

[Phaedrus]

Isn't she fantastic? Our National Poet.

[texasbluebell]

Each column Peggy writes is better than the last one.

[texasbluebell]

Peggy is right to remind us of that movie "Mrs. Miniver."

It's so funny, because I was just thinking of that movie last night, thinking I would pull it out of my stack and watch it. It's a good one for these days.

[MozartLover]

"I keep waiting for some talk show or news show to do the Mrs. Miniver segment, telling us what to do in case of real and terrible trouble. And no one is doing it. So we must all be doing it ourselves....."

"We'd all best handle as much as we can ourselves, in and with our own little units...."

Gee, I thought what's-her-twit from a few weeks ago said that we should wait for Tom Ridge to tell us what to do, when to do it, when to breathe, etc.;^)

I like Peggy's solution better.:)

[proud American in Canada]

Her delicious, mansard-roofed prose puts me in that mood.

I know exactly what you mean. she has such a beautiful talent. I sent her article from last week to a liberal friend of mine, who wrote back, "Wasn't she Reagan's speechwriter?" I wrote back, "You know, yes she was, but it shouldn't matter what she did or didn't do--she writes beautifully." I haven't heard back from my friend on that topic.

[Neets]

What's-her-twit...hehehehehe You mean the SKY IS FALLING and they didn't give me instructions on how to catch it?????

[BlueHorseShoe]

"...Another way to say it: The people of the West were, the past 10 years or so, on an extended pleasure cruise, sailing blithely on smooth waters--but through an iceberg field. We thought those in charge of the ship, commanding it and steering it and seeing to its supplies, would--could--handle any problems. We paid our fare (that is, our taxes) and assumed the crew would keep us safe. We thought our luck would hold, too..."

I would differ tremendously with the above remarks. Both my hubby and I have felt for the past many years (through Clinton and cronies) that our world as we knew it and as we had hoped for its future was unraveling. We seriously wondered where it would end up because things moral and honest no longer mattered in the face of fun, money, sex, and power. Those of us who still held those values that our very country was founded on were dismissed out of hand as wanting to "get the Clintons".

It was a huge free-for-all to see who could apologize the most and the longest to shield the evil Clinton administration in their efforts to transform our once great country into something she was never meant to become. It was the pendulum swinging in great magnitude but not enough. No, that came on September 11 when finally after years and years of forgiving the unforgivable we were struck because we had become weak.

Thanks Bill and Hill. I loathe you both. For you it was such a sweet ride. And like those who harbor terrorists your defenders are just as guilty. I loathe all your defenders. I'll never forget.

[backhoe]

I agree with your every word... FYI--

-"until clintonese is spoken only in Hell!"--

[foreshadowed at waco]

I think that Peggy is right on the money...we are incredibly lucky to be American and live in this great country...I hold the mainstream media largely responsibly for allowing Americans to fall asleep at the switch as they continued to cover for Clinton, sell us celebrity sexcapades in lieu of hard investigative news, and just focus on money and ratings. They should have been out front in reporting just how weak our national security system was...instead they spent time selling us multicultural crap and featuring constant segments on liposuction and face lifts as though just extending our youthful appearance was what life was all about. They are a major source of news for most Americans and they failed to keep them informed.

[Remole]

I agree with you about the culpability of the Clintonians and their amen corner in the media. But the fault is even larger than they, though the Clintons are the tip and visible portion of the iceberg. The fault is with a world view that is, not to mince words, unrealistic. It is a worldview that holds that everything is fungible and can be manipulated for short-term ends. It holds that national security is a given because we have it--instead of having it because we have had to earn it. It holds that the mechanisms of national security are beneath us because they assume the superiority of the American system of justice and freedom.

I could go on and on, and those much more adroit than I with words can say it better. I rejoiced at Bush's victory, when I said with a sigh, "Now the adults are back in charge." Ever since 9/11, an entire generation--or at least a significant portion of it that maintained a certain world view--is under indictment by history. And history will not be merciful.

[Benrand]

Beautiful woman...thanks for including the pic.