Peggy Noonan: The Ben Elliott Story (What I saw at the funeral)

Opinion Journal ^ | 06/14/04 | Peggy Noonan

[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.

[Pagey]

Could she be referring to Pat Buchanan?

[Fenris6]

Fen: Pretending the WOT does not include nation states like Iraq that support terror networks is not intellectually honest

. You: It most definitely is intellectually honest. Bush himself said there wasn't a link between Saddam and 9-11.

There you go again. You're being dishonest. Where did I mention 9-11? You can't even defend your posiiton - you have to resort to strawman. You are disingenuous. Thanks for making my point for me so quickly. Idiot.

[churchillbuff]

Please. 9-11 a "strawman"? Give me a break. It's the reason we've gone to war. We weren't at war before 9-11, were we? There was no Congressional resolution authorizing military action before 9-11, was there. Please.

[cyncooper]

I always enjoy your insights. Thanks for your comment on the picture.

[Fenris6]

Are you really this stupid? Do you even know what a strawman is?

And we didn't go into Iraq because of 9-11. We went into Iraq to prevent Saddam from handing off WMDs to terrorist networks.

You are a fraud.

[churchillbuff]

Are you really this stupid?

I'm smart enough not to continue a conversation with somebody as angry as you are. Please, take some deep breaths, maybe go on a stroll, some window-shopping perhaps. You need to ease up! Have a wonderful evening!

[Fenris6]

Angry? LOL. Merely amused at your lack of honesty. You are the typical weasel.

"I'm smart enough not to continue..."

//Cue minstrels

Bravely ran away he did
When logic reared his ugly head
he bravely turned his tail and hid

//eat minstrels

[Victoria Delsoul]

Thanks for the ping. Great article, indeed.

[streetpreacher]

From his website:

Prior to his first term in Congress in 1988, Dana served as Special Assistant to President Reagan. For seven years he was one of the President's senior speechwriters. During his tenure at the White House, Rohrabacher played a pivotal role in the formulation of the Reagan Doctrine and in championing the cause of a strong national defense. He also helped formulate President Reagan's Economic Bill of Rights, a package of economic reforms that the President introduced in a historic speech before the Jefferson Memorial.

[Chgogal]

Saddam supported terrorists to the tune of $35 million/year. Saddam's Iraq was a terrorist state. If you believe that Saddam had no links to bin Laden, that is your opinion. It is an opinion that is NOT supported by facts. You have an opportunity to vote in November and change the country's CIC.

[arjay]

Everybody on earth knows something you don't.

[GipperGal]

In "What I Saw At the Revolution" she mentions Ben Elliott quite a lot!

[arjay]

Here is an interesting article written by the Bently Elliott she was defending.

""Why I Am Thankful"

"Why I Am Thankful"


Written by Bently Elliott
March 18, 2003

As war looms, I am thankful for many things. I am thankful for the privilege of being an American at a moment when the world is challenged by tyrants and terror, and my country has stepped forward to bear the burdens and pay the price of defending freedom.

I am thankful for a president who suffers slings and arrows for steadfastly opposing evil, while other more sophisticated statesmen continue to appease one of the cruelest monsters of our time.

I am thankful for a man who understands, unlike his predecessor, that leadership is lonely and that the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.

I am thankful for the U.S. military, not for the United Nations or any other international organization, for it is the men and women of America's armed forces who will be the guardians of civilization as we have known it.

I am thankful for their bravery, skills and sacrifice, which betray greater courage and character than all of the screams and sloganeering from Hollywood's stars and protesters, who understand little, and risk even less in demonstrating against them.

I am thankful for our military that aims, with purpose and precision, to destroy the enemy but spare innocent lives, even as our enemies plot to poison, murder and maim as many innocent men, women and children as they can.

I am thankful for allies like Great Britain, Spain and Australia, and as I will remember their loyalty, I will not forget the betrayal of our faithless, former friends.

I am thankful for the Coalition of the Willing, a mighty force for good that, through victory in Iraq, can bring the promise of freedom, dignity and a better life to millions in bondage who have known nothing but poverty, torture and pain.

And, finally, I am thankful for an almighty God who, over the course of human history, has cast His favor and blessings upon people consumed not by hatred and evil, but by a sincere quest for truth, freedom and love.

About the author:

Bently Elliott, director of White House Speechwriting under President Reagan, currently works in the private sector. "

[GipperGal]

As for Robinson being the "haircut boy," I say no way. Here's the big clue to haircut boy: he wrote two good speeches, one in 1982 and one in 1988. If you go to the Reagan library archives at the University of Texas, you will find online a listing of the boxes that contain speech drafts for all of Reagan's speeches. It lists the speechwriter's name in parentheses after each speech. So basically this allows you to figure out who worked on the speechwriting staff in each year (there was a lot of turn-around in that department), which speeches they wrote (more difficult ones obviously take precedence above the standard "Rose Garden Rubbish" speeches that the president has to give for this or that boring thing obligatory ceremony. So after doing a little sleuthing and some educated guessing, I think I've figured out who Haircut Boy is.

I don't think it's Robinson because:

A) He didn't work on the president's speechwriting staff in 1982. He was still working for the Vice President at that time.

B) Peggy seems to be on friendly terms with Peter Robinson. A few years ago, Peter guest hosted the "Hugh Hewitt" radio show and he invited Peggy to come on the show. They had a very friendly chat.

C) Robinson worked on a lot of speeches. I don't think he was lazy like "Haircut Boy" is described.

D) Robinson is a frequent poster to National Review's "The Corner," and he seems like such a charming guy. I just find it very hard to believe he is the person Peggy attacks with such vitriol.

So, here's my theory on who the mysterious "Haircut Boy" is: Anthony Dolan. Why? Because:

A) He worked for Reagan from 1982 to 1988.

B) He wrote a few decent speeches in 1982. Then wrote practically nothing for a long time until he appears again in 1988 as the writer of Reagan's '88 State of the Union address.

C) He wrote a book about Reagan and the Cold War

D) Dolan took over Ben Elliott's job, which could very well mean that he back-stabbed Elliott to get the job. If I recall correctly, Peggy mentions in "What I Saw At the Revolution" that Elliott was on the way out. And without him around to back up her work, she leave too.

Also, it should be noted that "Haircut Boy" couldn't have been Dick Darman because Darman was Elliott's boss.

[Vision Thing]

I'm glad to hear your evidence. Based on what I've seen and read from him, he doesn't seem to deserve much criticism from Peggy.

[GipperGal]

Ditto! Robinson is just too nice a guy and the "Tear Down This Wall" speech is much too important to be snickered at. Besides, if I'm not mistaken, Robinson did mention Ben Elliott quite a lot in his last book.

[GipperGal]

Couldn't have been Podhoretz. He didn't work in the Speechwriting Department the same time as Peggy did. He came in at the tail end of Reagan's second term. Peggy left in 1986. But that's a very astute "malignant leprechaun" guess on your part!

[joanie-f]

Thanks for the steer to this uplifting read, Mike.

I took the link and read the entire article. A few (seemingly disjointed, I guess) reactions:

Not to take anything away from Peggy's tribute to Reagan (I would rather cut off my right arm than diminish any tribute to that giant of a man), but I thought it strange, and yet very insightful, that Lady Thatcher remarked to Peggy's young son, when he told her he loves history and literature:

'In the world of the future it will be mathematics that we need -- the hard, specific knowledge of mathematical formulae, you see.'

Not to take anything away from Lady Thatcher (I would rather cut off my right arm than diminish any tribute to that giant of a lady), but I didn't realize that she had instincts in that area (thought she was simply heads above the rest of us in all else that matters. :)

Studying math involves so much more than 'working with numbers'. It involves comprehending the patterns, blueprint, and design in all that surrounds us – and extrapolating far beyond the physical/visible (I'd give you the standard mini-lecture I give my occasional tutoring students, but for the fact that I believe you to be light-years more worldly and insightful than they :). Math-insight-kudos to Lady Thatcher!

Peggy's description of her encounter with Natan Sharansky (who was in solitary confinement in the gulag, who tapped out in Morse code Reagan's words to his fellow prisoners – and who was now paying his respects to his liberator) is almost surreally moving. Brought a new and sizeable lump to my throat, after a week of countless such sizeable lumps.

And Peggy’s behavior (during 'one of the most wonderful moments of her life') has raised her to genuine semi-hero(ine) status in my particular eyes, and I don't have but a small handful of heroes. Ben Elliott (he who 'faced a million swords' and is 'an ardent Christian, whose faith, not politics, became the central animating fact of his life') appears to have richly deserved her defense of him. And the fact that she ('candidly, in honor of Ronald Reagan') greeted the one hypocrite at this commemoration with the sarcasm and harsh personal truth that he deserved literally made me cheer. :)

~ joanie

[churchillbuff]

she mentions Ben Elliott a lot.

OK, I stand corrected.

[Badeye]

I don't know, I haven't read it.