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Peggy Noonan: The Ben Elliott Story (What I saw at the funeral)
Opinion Journal ^ | 06/14/04 | Peggy Noonan

Posted on 06/13/2004 9:04:38 PM PDT by Pokey78

What was the meaning of the past remarkable nine days? You cannot stop the American people from feeling what they feel and showing it. From the crowds at Simi Valley to the hordes at the Capitol to the men and women who stopped and got out of their cars on Highway 101 to salute as Reagan came home--that was America talking to America about who America is.

It was a magnificent teaching moment for the whole country but most of all for the young, who barely remembered Ronald Reagan or didn't remember him at all. This week they heard who he was. The old ones spoke, on all the networks and in all the newspapers, and by the end of the week it was clear that Ronald Reagan had suddenly entered the Lincoln pantheon. By Friday it was no longer a question, as it had been for years, whether he was one of our top 10 presidents. It was a question only whether he was in the very top five or six--up there with Lincoln and Washington. An agreement had been reached: the 20th century came down to FDR and RWR.

What is important now is that we continue to speak of the meaning of his leadership. Not bang away about what a great guy he was--there are a lot of great guys--but what huge things he did, not because he had an "ideology" but because he had a philosophy, a specific one that had specific meaning. He was the great 20th-century conservative of America. He applied his philosophy to the realities of the world he lived in. In doing so he changed those realities, and for the better. This is what we must pass on.

(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Government; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: almeyer; andrewferguson; christopherbuckley; clarkjudge; danarohrabacher; davidgergen; deeppen; haircutboy; joshgilder; kenkhachigian; landonparvin; patbuchanan; peggynoonan; peggynoonanlist; peterrobinson; ronaldreagan; thehack; tonydolan; tonysnow; whoareyou; whoareyouwhowho; whoisandyferguson; whoisdanarohrabacher; whoisdarkman; whoisdeepthroat; whoishaircutboy; whoishortonhearsawho; whoisjohngalt; whoispatbuchanan; whoispeterrobinson; whoisthehack; whoistheleprechaun
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To: churchillbuff

'Tisn't I who is frustrated and angry.


181 posted on 06/14/2004 10:51:37 AM PDT by cyncooper
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To: cyncooper
'Tisn't I who is frustrated and angry.

If you could see the smile on my face as I type this, you'd know it wasn't me either. So it must be some guy behind that tree! Have a wonderful afternoon!

182 posted on 06/14/2004 10:53:53 AM PDT by churchillbuff (q)
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To: cyncooper

Is that Annie Oakley on your webpage? Whoever it is looks like one tough lady.


183 posted on 06/14/2004 10:55:52 AM PDT by churchillbuff (q)
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To: churchillbuff

To be honest, I don't know her name. I got the picture from another freeper, but I think she IS a cowgirl.

She's my freeper friend's and my mascot, so to speak.


184 posted on 06/14/2004 11:00:19 AM PDT by cyncooper
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To: churchillbuff

Methinks the market for writings by 'Reagan Speechwriters' is finite, and Peggy aims to keep it for herself.


185 posted on 06/14/2004 11:01:39 AM PDT by skeeter
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To: skeeter
Methinks the market for writings by 'Reagan Speechwriters' is finite, and Peggy aims to keep it for herself.

Methinks you've hit the nail on the head.

186 posted on 06/14/2004 11:09:53 AM PDT by churchillbuff (q)
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To: Pokey78

All I know is if and when Peggy Noonan writes her "book" I'm pre ordering it.


187 posted on 06/14/2004 11:20:42 AM PDT by Badeye
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To: paulat
"He put his hand on my waist. This was a mistake."

I question the need for these lines as well.

188 posted on 06/14/2004 11:25:09 AM PDT by 1Old Pro
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To: Badeye

Did you read her book, "What I Saw At The Revolution?"


189 posted on 06/14/2004 11:25:42 AM PDT by Hildy ( If you don't stand up for what's RIGHT, you'll settle for what's LEFT.)
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To: Badeye

hence: What I saw at the Funeral.


190 posted on 06/14/2004 11:26:27 AM PDT by Hildy ( If you don't stand up for what's RIGHT, you'll settle for what's LEFT.)
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To: churchillbuff
Noonan is too saccharine for some, and for me too occasionally, but I do not see her as the shameless self-promoter Robinson, and, apparently, you, take her to be.

Her undeniable talent as a wordsmith has taken her a long way. There's no crime in that. Robinson's complaint is a case of sour grapes.

Noonan is far too decent a person to take credit for Reagan's speechifying genius, and I believe she's given him full credit for his success in that area. In any case, I have yet to see a direct quote from her which says anything like "I put the words in the president's mouth."

I happen to know the Noonan family a bit. Peggy Noonan's sister got married out of my parent's home on Long Island. My sister and Peggy Noonan's sister are friends. They are salt of the earth people, though not entirely without the troubles that find their way into any family. Noonan is a sweet, highly intelligent lady who loves Ronald Reagan. It is silly to believe that she employs a "me me me" approach to writing, or that there's anything "gonzo" about her style. In fact I can't think of a more inept comparison than one between Peggy Noonan and Hunter S. Thompson.

She rose in the world of journalism because her readership and her admirers grew. It's as simple as that.

191 posted on 06/14/2004 11:37:03 AM PDT by beckett
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To: Hildy

"Did you read her book, "What I Saw At The Revolution?""

No, I didn't get around to it. I did however, make the connection you cite in a later post to me.


192 posted on 06/14/2004 11:40:01 AM PDT by Badeye
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To: 1Old Pro

Thank you. This is not a "rip" on Peggy Noonan. It's a bewilderment with the second half of one column.

I think the bewilderment is because we hold her in such high esteem.


193 posted on 06/14/2004 11:46:29 AM PDT by paulat
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To: cyncooper
You don't think there are political hacks in congress? Au contraire, the place is crawling with them!

Noonan described "the hack" as possessing a "greasy political style." For my money, that describes Rohrabacher to a "t."

Having said that, I must plainly admit I have no certain knowledge of who Noonan is talking about.

194 posted on 06/14/2004 11:49:21 AM PDT by beckett
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To: cyncooper; churchillbuff
The young lady on cyncooper's page is not Ms. Oakley - Ms. Moses was darker and her face was much rounder.

Also, the anonymous lady is dressed in a later fashion, probably around 1910-1915 from the corsets and style of the hat. Annie Oakley was born in 1860 and was active with Buffalo Bill's show from 1885 until severely injured in a train wreck in 1901, she did recover and did some limited touring thereafter, but the height of her career was before the turn of the century.

195 posted on 06/14/2004 11:53:05 AM PDT by AnAmericanMother (. . . Ministrix of Venery (recess appointment), TTGC Ladies' Auxiliary . . .)
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To: beckett
It is silly to believe that she employs a "me me me" approach to writing

It's silly - until you read what she writes.

196 posted on 06/14/2004 12:08:20 PM PDT by churchillbuff (q)
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To: Badeye
"Did you read her book, "What I Saw At The Revolution?""

No, did she give Ben Elliott the kind of praise in that book that she condemns the "hack" and "haircut man" for withholding?

197 posted on 06/14/2004 12:09:55 PM PDT by churchillbuff (q)
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To: AnAmericanMother; cyncooper; churchillbuff

I found her photo last year and shared her with cyncooper. She's just an anonymous woman who had her photo taken almost 100 years ago. I deal in antique photographs, and this one really caught my eye. I like her toughness...and her hat.


198 posted on 06/14/2004 12:14:53 PM PDT by EllaMinnow ("President Reagan has left us, but he has left us stronger and better." President George W. Bush)
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To: paulat

agreed


199 posted on 06/14/2004 12:15:15 PM PDT by 1Old Pro
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To: redlipstick
Thanks! If you deal in antique photos, maybe you know the date a little closer. IIRC, that "pouter pigeon" look came in around 1905 and stayed for 10 years or so . . .

I love the hat too. We have a pic of my grandmother taken around 1916 in a similar hat - broader brim and feathers instead of a rosette, but the same general effect . . . she was quite the fashion plate.

200 posted on 06/14/2004 12:25:55 PM PDT by AnAmericanMother (. . . Ministrix of Venery (recess appointment), TTGC Ladies' Auxiliary . . .)
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