Posted on 01/20/2005 9:33:31 PM PST by 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,
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
Who didn't get to bask in this day of sunlight, when an historical speech was delivered. BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T WRITE THEM!
This is--how else to put it?--over the top. It is the kind of sentence that makes you wonder if this White House did not, in the preparation period, have a case of what I have called in the past "mission inebriation." A sense that there are few legitimate boundaries to the desires born in the goodness of their good hearts.
One wonders if they shouldn't ease up, calm down, breathe deep, get more securely grounded. The most moving speeches summon us to the cause of what is actually possible.
With all due respect, Peggy, you are selling the speech short. Bush has issued an audacious challenge for the U.S. to undertake what might seem impossible to some.
So did John F. Kennedy issue a similarly audacious challenge:
"I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth."
We did that. We can do this, too. It will make the world a better place...and the U.S. a safer place, as well.
I agree with Peggy. It was a mediocre speech. We got a lot of God Bless America and a lot of appeasing speech toward those who would like to see us all dead. Very contradictory.
With all the "Liberty and justice for all" yadayadayada--it reminded me of the speeches you hear from the Boy Scouts on Flag Day in your local park.
Nothing intellectual; nothing soaring; nothing inspirational.
Parts of it sounded like those speeches the FBI writes for parents of kidnapped children to give publicly when they beg for their children's lives. The language of these statements is purposely bland, vague, spoken directly to the criminal hostage-taker, and designed NOT TO PISS HIM OFF.
I hated the part where W equated the cult of Islam with the Judeo-Christian traditions that have made this country what it is today.
Right on, George--DON'T PISS THEM OFF. They may have a dirty bomb inside DC.
Keep Bawny Frank OUT of this!
You're right, that she would end the article on that sentence show a little jealousy because it was one of the best speeches since Reagan. Reagan could read from a comic book and make it sound historic.
Symptoms? Not getting a call for the Bush White House, offering a job.
And, yes, Bush JUST hired a new speech writer this very week.
LOL. You lost.
All of us are happy, but some of us are still realists. Cheerleading and the "we can do no wrong" stuff does not fly.
For the record, what in the heck did President Bush mean when he said . . .
"Liberty for all does not mean independence from one another."
I find that very disturbing as it implies more globalism and wealth transfer and less liberty.
To me, she is no different that Woodward or Bernstein or John Dean, rushing to get on TV no matter WHAT the story, to say "No, this is NOT as important as Watergate was!"
"My point is, who cares what she thinks..."
I care. She's a daughter of the Reagan Revolution, very wise and talented. She may be wrong on this one, but marginalizing her for an unpopular opinion is what Democrats do to the likes of Zell Miller.
Miss Noonan made a BIG SPLASH of taking a leave of absence from her column at the WSJ online, to "work to elect the President". Now what evidence do we have of the work that she did? Well, she's back at work today, with this disturbing piece.
"Peggy fails to realize what has already been set in motion."
Smiles......
I agree, a thousands points of light was ridiculous, at least I thought it was.
In many ways, I like her - she is certainly graceful and beautiful - but I read one of her books (the one with the imaginary gathering, called "The Case Against Hillary Clinton"), and I thought it was one of the corniest things I've ever read in my life.
Sophomoric is a good word.
"Now what evidence do we have of the work that she did?"
OMG. You sound like one of those DU people.
Well, I read it, and the title is a bit out of line with what she actually says.
She says she thinks it was too over the top in the description of how much freedom we will spread etc. and was making Earth into heaven when it is not.
I disagree with her. I thought the speech was very well done and inspiring. No, we won't end tyranny, but I did not find the speech over the top. And the invocation of God is classic Bush.
Venus and Mars look allright tonight.
Andrew Sullivan? Is that you?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.