Peggy Noonan: Way Too Much God

Wall Street Journal ^ | January 21, 2005 | Peggy Noonan

[RWR8189]

Was the president's speech a case of "mission inebriation"?

It was an interesting Inauguration Day. Washington had warmed up, the swift storm of the previous day had passed, the sky was overcast but the air wasn't painful in a wind-chill way, and the capital was full of men in cowboy hats and women in long furs. In fact, the night of the inaugural balls became known this year as The Night of the Long Furs.

Laura Bush's beauty has grown more obvious; she was chic in shades of white, and smiled warmly. The Bush daughters looked exactly as they are, beautiful and young. A well-behaved city was on its best behavior, everyone from cops to doormen to journalists eager to help visitors in any way.

For me there was some unexpected merriness. In my hotel the night before the inauguration, all the guests were evacuated at 1:45 in the morning. There were fire alarms and flashing lights on each floor, and a public address system instructed us to take the stairs, not the elevators. Hundreds of people wound up outside in the slush, eventually gathering inside the lobby, waiting to find out what next.

The staff--kindly, clucking--tried to figure out if the fire existed and, if so, where it was. Hundreds of inaugural revelers wound up observing each other. Over there on the couch was Warren Buffet in bright blue pajamas and a white hotel robe. James Baker was in trench coat and throat scarf. I remembered my keys and eyeglasses but walked out without my shoes. After a while the "all clear" came,

[Mo1]

Here is the article Buckley wrote about the speech

What Is Bush Saying?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1325647/posts

Like I say before .. He's a drama queen too

[Wolfstar]

I still haven't figured out why she wrote about the fire alarm and Baker in his trench coat or her remembering her eye glasses and not her shoes.

She does this sort of thing in almost every article of hers I've ever read. She wanders around in some kind of misty wonderland of her own mind, and only makes a pertinent point if she happens to bump into one by accident.

[ohioWfan]

The sentiments of President Bush are fine, and his sincerity was transparent. But in speaking about bringing liberty to the rest of the world, he could have gone at it more platonically: but this would have required him to corral his enthusiasm for liberty everywhere with appropriately moderate rhetoric.

That's the problem with President Bush. He just can't corral that pesky old enthusiasm for liberty with............using best Bill Buckley imitation..........appropriately MODerate rhetoric.

Too bad, Mr. Buckley. I admire you greatly, but sometimes being moderate isn't the right thing to do.

[JeffAtlanta]

Ummmmm........Mo's comments were not directly in relation to the speech, Jeff.

Ummmmmm......no. You should check out the Buckley thread - his comments were directly about the speech. No offense, but if you tell someone "before you jump in to criticize, you should check out what's going on", you really should make sure that have yourself checked out what's going on.

[ohioWfan]

Oops. You're wrong, Jeff.

What Mo was replying to in the post you called her on and pinged me to, was NOT about Buckley or his article.

Nice try.

[exhaustedmomma]

To be honest, I ran off President Bush's Inaugural Address. I have read it numerous times. I do not think it is the best speech he has given (the best speech he gave, he wrote himself and delivered from his heart... impromptu... at ground zero... when somebody there yelled out, "We can't hear you." His response was awesome.) Likewise, this was not a "bad" speech either.
Frankly, I found 5 references to God. The first was 6 paragraphs into the speech. Another reference was not made until a quote from Abraham Lincoln. Near the end of the speech there was a reference to "faith" of all people... and how that builds character, standards, etc., in families, communities and nations. The next statement was, "God moves and chooses as He wills." Finally, the President signed off with his signature blessing: "May God Bless you, and may He watch over the United States of America."

Up to this point, I have not commented on the speech. Nor my opinion of Noonan. I disagree with her that this was way too much God. However, I credit Noonan as a leader in the conservative movement. Her voice has been clear, resonant and sound for decades.

mission inebriation---IMO, was just her "artsy" way of describing a moment, an ideal, a flow, a fevor.
There has been a disconcerting attack on people who disagree with the President here lately.

[Mo1]

Sorry to disappoint you Jeff .. But OhioWfan is correct .. my comments in that post were not directly in relation to the speech

I was speaking generally

[Mo1]

She does this sort of thing in almost every article of hers I've ever read

I've noticed that also .. I try to ignore that part, because I do want to read what she has to say ... but it's sometimes hard to

[JeffAtlanta]

LOL - looking back at it, I thought that "Mo" was OhioWfan's nickname for William Buckley. I was wondering how someone could say that Buckley's comments were directly about Bush's speech. On this issue, we're all good. :-)

[Ronzo]

Direct quotes from Peggy's article:

"The president's speech seemed rather heavenish. It was a God-drenched speech. This president, who has been accused of giving too much attention to religious imagery and religious thought, has not let the criticism enter him. God was invoked relentlessly. "The Author of Liberty." "God moves and chooses as He wills. We have confidence because freedom is the permanent hope of mankind . . . the longing of the soul."

"It seemed a document produced by a White House on a mission. The United States, the speech said, has put the world on notice: Good governments that are just to their people are our friends, and those that are not are, essentially, not. We know the way: democracy. The president told every nondemocratic government in the world to shape up. "Success in our relations [with other governments] will require the decent treatment of their own people."

"We are led, by events and common sense, to one conclusion: The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands." "Across the generations we have proclaimed the imperative of self government. . . . Now it is the urgent requirement of our nation's security, and the calling of our time." "It is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in the world."

"Ending tyranny in the world? Well that's an ambition, and if you're going to have an ambition it might as well be a big one. But this declaration, which is not wrong by any means, seemed to me to land somewhere between dreamy and disturbing. Tyranny is a very bad thing and quite wicked, but one doesn't expect we're going to eradicate it any time soon. Again, this is not heaven, it's earth.

Ronzo says:

Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will be Done, ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN....

[Wolfstar]

I know it's a matter of personal taste, but I find there's nothing Noonan says or writes about that is original or interesting to me.

[ohioWfan]

No problem. Just wanted to be sure it got cleared up.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

Alan Colmes is such a strange looking person. Do you think he's really an earthling?

I think he is Jiminy Cricket's lost twin. Jiminy had lasik surgery though, I think. And he has a conscience.

[Don'tMessWithTexas]

Peggy's version of Reagan's speech at the Brandeburg Gate: Mr. Gorbachev, please come. I understand that it's unrealistic to tear this wall down. So, we'll have tead and take a look it together.

[Dont_Tread_On_Me_888]

It is very easy to understand the meaning of that sentence if your faith is strong.

Bush placed independence on the back burner with that sentence of his. Even faith cant't change those words he used.

As Ben Franklin stated, we must all stand together or we will all hang separately.

Ben Frankling talked about fighting for independence. George Bush talked about giving up independence.

That is a VERY big difference between Ben and George.

[BobS]

I heard Bush's speech on the radio and was moved. Then I came home later and watched it on TV. It doesn't play well for me on TV.

Peggy must have sat there and watched it on the bOOb tube.

[Dont_Tread_On_Me_888]

Since the first 80% of the speech was about the world, the planet, globalism, etc, you need to be careful what those words mean:

Our nation relies on men and women who look after a neighbor

Neighbor? Does he mean American neighbor, or does "neighbor" mean tsunami victims or recipients of the billions we send overseas?

and must always remember that even the unwanted have worth.

I can assure you that Bush was talking about the poor of the world, not Americans. Being that $1.1 trillion of our $2 trillion dollar budget goes toward domestic social welfare, Bush is not preacing about that. He was preaching for more globalism and welfare directed toward the poor of the world.

Whether you agree or not, this speech was about less American independence, more American globalism, less personal liberty, more wealth transfer, less America first, more New World Order.

[Dont_Tread_On_Me_888]

Since the first 80% of the speech was about the world, the planet, globalism, etc, you need to be careful what those words mean:

Our nation relies on men and women who look after a neighbor

Neighbor? Does he mean American neighbor, or does "neighbor" mean tsunami victims or recipients of the billions we send overseas?

and must always remember that even the unwanted have worth.

I can assure you that Bush was talking about the poor of the world, not Americans. Being that $1.1 trillion of our $2 trillion dollar budget goes toward domestic social welfare, Bush is not preacing about that. He was preaching for more globalism and welfare directed toward the poor of the world.

Whether you agree or not, this speech was about less American independence, more American globalism, less personal liberty, more wealth transfer, less America first, more New World Order.

[Dont_Tread_On_Me_888]

See post #518 for my take on it.

Thanks for your opinion.

[arasina]

The last time she did something like this was when the President went on "meet the depressed one" to explain his National Guard days.

I remember the hubbub about this one but couldn't find the thread, so here's the article:

Philosphy, Not Policy - Opinion Journal/Noonan

PEGGY NOONAN

Philosophy, Not Policy
Why Bush isn't good at interviews.

Sunday, February 8, 2004 4:30 p.m.

President Bush's interview on "Meet the Press" seems to me so much a big-story-in-the-making that I wanted to weigh in with some thoughts. I am one of those who feel his performance was not impressive.