Peggy Noonan: The Paragraph- Help the White House make the case for re-election

Opinion Journal ^ | 02/12/04 | Peggy Noonan

[Pokey78]

When you are a conservative and tend to support conservatives, it will come as a surprise, and an unwelcome one, when you ding one, as I dinged President Bush the other day about his "Meet the Press" performance. Of those who responded, about 60% disagreed with me, and the rest were more or less in agreement. Many of those who disagreed with me said they thought the president had done well with Tim Russert, that the interview made clear his decency and sincerity. Others said I was kicking the president when he's down and that's the problem with conservative pundits, they can't be trusted. My answer is the obvious one: It is the job of a writer to write the truth as he sees it, and if it's an uncomfortable truth, then so be it.

[varon]

What should the Bush paragraph consist of? How to make it new? How to make it memorable, and true?

Anything but "He's a great leader in the fight against terrorism".

[ontos-on]

I disagree about how worth it Peggy is. Sometimes I llike her stuff, but at others it looks like a big e-moting session. When she brings in her own life events, like her NYC parties, or MJ concert with a "friend", or this oh so nice talk with the WH aide, I wonder if she has imaginary friends or can her life really be this dull. I don't re4ally mena dull, what I mean is that she always just seems in the middle of one emotion or another. Obviously, this column displays her at her worst; she is trying to compensate fro offending people with the last column with her half lame brain idea that republicans are such pansies in a verbal fight with democrats because they are philosophers and not politicians. She's a mess. It is silly to even begin to analyze her stuff. She could have written this column in ONE FREAKING PARAGRAPH.

[thesummerwind]

Then Bush the baseball player, the fighter pilot, the Texas hunter, nails his target right in the heart. Lay low in the bush and let the prey come to you, don't shoot wildly.

Yeh, along those lines, you might like this from another thread -- GWB: HBS MBA

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1070924/posts

******

"By reputation, the President was a very avid and skillful poker player when he was an MBA student."

" One of the secrets of a successful poker player is to encourage your opponent to bet a lot of chips on a losing hand. This is a pattern of behavior one sees repeatedly in George W. Bush’s political career."

"He is not one to loudly proclaim his strengths at the beginning of a campaign. Instead, he bides his time, does not respond forcefully, a least at first, to critiques from his enemies, no matter how loud and annoying they get. If anything, this apparent passivity only goads them into making their case more emphatically."

*******

Still holding his cards?????

[maica]

***Split screen on one side a Jean Kerrey tossing some medals, on the other the President with his arm around the retired firefighter at ground zero. Below the caption "Who do you trust with the nation?***


Email this with the audio clip of President Bush's words that day in New York City. That will stir the base, all right!

[arasina]

You know what, Burkeman? Soldiers are unselfish. Just look at the words we use in describing them: serve, give, protect, honor, fight for, die for. I saw yesterday where one of Iraq's new military police force was badly injured in Tuesday's bombing. He wants to go back to that same dangerous job as soon as he recovers. I read stories about our own soldiers who do the same thing. They possess an unselfish love for protecting the freedom of others.

Why do you ascribe to them and their families a selfishness that does not exist? "Tell us and then tell his family," you say. Of course the families grieve the loss of their brave sons and daughters. They also know the cause was just, with or without WMDs. You dishonor them by saying they are putting their lives on the line for what you consider to be "nothing" if no WMDs were found.

[ChadGore]

Re: I like your language here, but be honest about what it really is, a "capitulation movement", as in "John Kerry finished his service and led a capitulation movement, while GWB was getting his Masters" . . .or something like that.

[Conspiracy Guy]

Ditto. He is playing his hand skillfully and he will not be distracted by the nervous Peggy's of the world who aren't even at the table.

When it's time to raise, he will. When it's time to call, he will. He has a winning hand, I have seen it. But he is lucky that it isn't you or me on the opposite side of the table. I always wanted a ranch in Texas.

CG

[thesummerwind]

but alas she is too old for me, and too old for the new political game. A game based on a clean, economic, business acumen, where everything is streamlined and the sluts are kicked to the curb.

Too old for you, and too wise for you, perhaps.

Who are the "sluts" you refer too? I hope it's not her you are talking about.

By the way if you ever have a son, I'm sure her daughter would want nothing to do with him, considering the lame words coming out of your sophomoric "mind".

[maica]

Re the trolls with early sign-up dates -

There seemed to be such a rash of posters with early dates at about the time JimRob did a huge upgrade to his servers (I don't remember what month) that I thought some anti-conservative group had figured out how to backdate sign-up dates.

No one should take an early date as a validation of conservative bona fides.

[Taliesan]

I was changed by 9-11. I suppose we all were, that everybody felt it. This was on my watch. Since that day, I have been on a mission. I said in New York not long after, that the people that did this would hear from all of us soon. I think they can hear us now. Indeed, they can hear the free people of Afghanistan and of Iraq repudiating their doctrines of hatred, choosing justice and peace.

There was real unity on all this then. When a year later it was time to decide about Iraq, my opponent saw the need for that unity. And I thank him for it.

Now, maybe you think this is all over by now. Maybe you think we did the wrong thing, or went too far, or that it doesn't matter. I didn't ask for this, and I wish it weren't this way, but I don't think it is over yet. I think we have more work to do. When our enemies come after us like that, I think we should unite, go straight to the source, and deal with it to its roots. I think nothing should sway us from this, that we should be implacable, until the job is done.

But maybe I am too close. Our system wisely leaves these big decisions not with the men who must carry out the task, but with all of you. You know what I stand for. The decision is yours. If you give me the time, I will finish the job.

The best effort yet.

[thesummerwind]

Anyone who thinks Bush hit a home run on Meet the Depressed is full of it. At best, Bush drew a walk.

You're so right. He was weak alright. He dribbled a weak grounder to second base, and was lucky only to hit into a force out - fielder's choice! He better get some batting tips from Barry Bonds. ;)

[Bluntpoint]

I don't follow baseball. Any hunting or fishing analogies?

[thesummerwind]

The fish got off the hook, but the stream has plenty more fish to catch.

BTW, did you see Colin Powell bitch-slap that Brown guy at that hearing yesterday? Beautiful.

[thesummerwind]

LOL............. I'll just take a visit at his Ranch as long as Laura is in something just a little more revealing. ;)

[Bluntpoint]

Ok! Now I understand how the interview went!

Is Rove the kindly ole gentleman who runs the baitshop by Bush's favorite fishing hole?

[maica]

She is in my category of Fair Weather Bush supporter.
*****


She was not enthusiastic in 2000 or 2001 either. Apparently, being a smooth talker is VERY important to her! I would rather have a man of conviction and action in the White House.

What she (and the folks at National Review) refuse to acknowledge is the dims NEVER eat their own. So they see this kind of petty criticism as a sign of weakness in our candidate - and in our entire party.


To bring in a parallel in the world situation - American Muslims do NOT criticize the actions of other Muslims. Dems do not criticize their champions. Period. Full stop.

Peggy is entitled to her opinion, but she should allow us to express ouselves regarding her opinion.

[ontos-on]

I agree with you, but I would change what you said in one way: Clinton's folks and fans did not think he was "omnipotent"; rather, I think what they thought about him was that he was COOL.

This questionable quality replaces power in their eyes. Exercising power would be too suspect in terms of coolness. This is why they were quite happy with his ineffectual tenure in office, and wished it could go on forever, in neverland, a suspension of the real world as the market went up and nothing happened--or so they continually told themselves.

I actually believe that Clinton's response to 9/11 WTC would have not been retaliation, but a way to show that he was still cool. The model would have been the Oklahoma Federal Building bombing--which more than anything saved him from being a one termer. He showed he was cool and the Gingrich and Limbaughs were not. All BS of course, but that's how it went. WJC would have said his menacing "we will hunt you down" one more time, but it would have been the supposed criminal facilitators of the twin towers and not the axis of evil that he would have been after. There never would have been an invasion of Afghanistan, let alone Iraq. We forget so easily, but the NPR types were not on board with going after the Taliban, in a land that supposedly eats up western powers. That's all forgotten now. That Bush actually had opposition [albeit muted in the immediate post 9/11 atmosphere] to that move. But this should be brought back to memory now by paid pundits like Peggy ---instead of her "inside Media" and "inside Politics" columns.

[baseballmom]

Having watched the MTP interview on Sunday, I would say that it did not show GW at his best.

I also think it did not show Tim Russert at his best. He looked like a rabid bulldog - extremely hostile right from the start.

He never smiled, and, he did not show the President of the United States ANY courtesy, as is due the OFFICE.

When one is trying to have a conversation, or an interview, with someone who is extrememy hostile and negative, the tension is so thick you could cut it with a knife. That tension was so palpable on MTP it made the viewer uncomfortable.

The very next day, at an speaking event, GW was on fire and his usual passionate self. He really does well in this type of venue. He needs people to speak to, not a teleprompter, or a hostile interrogator, uh, interviewer.

JMHO

[Conspiracy Guy]

I like the mystery of Laura's conservative dress code. She is a lovely lady and he is lucky to have her. He can keep the ranch and I don't want to be President, (I'm too busy). But I'm gonna take those fancy cowboy boots.

CG

[7thson]

The paragraph is a simple one and President Bush has touched upon it several times since 9/11. It is all about freedom - the freedom that God placed in our hearts. The words of the Declaration of Independence are not just for Americans. They are meant for everyone. Freedom for the world is what should be articulated - the American version.