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 ...
#579
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. Perfection in the life of man on earth is not.This is hard core Arianna Huffington. What a wild and whacky misinterpretation. Poor Peggy. Huffing and puffing like an Arianna. So sad to behold.
Thanks for a perspective worth remembering.
Pity Noonan has such disdain for it.
I have to say Peggy's title inspired me to go in search of previous speeches..Great reading can be found!..
God has blessed America and we always reach for the "unreachable" and idealistic goals.
"It's not right to accuse people without proof, or throw ill-founded insults. Peggy Noonan's article, not her motivations and all other deep, dark things of her soul, is what this thread should be about. Bashing it and bashing her are very different things."
Exactly.
Noonan is, like me, a former Democrat. She is more moderate than me, so I expect her views will often challenge those of the Republican leadership.
Thats a GOOD thing, cause we aren't getting much honest debate from the Dems - we need *some* kind of opposition.
I cannot believe the comments I've seen here, not attacking her work, but lewd juvenille character attacks on a woman who is as much of this party as Ronald Reagan ever was. It makes me embarassed to be a part of FR. You need to wake up and start acting like a frickin MAJORITY party - that means listening closely to your friends, telling them they're wrong if you think so, but not debasing them like the DUmmies do. Otherwise, people like me (who were on the team delivering a 300,000 vote margin in FL) will walk and you can get used to hearing President Clinton for another eight years.
Retards.
You are a perfect example of someone who likes to ignore posts as soon as you have the idea that they are not thinking like you.
I agreed that I wasn't impressed with the speech. I don't think that it was any more than focus-group-tested wordings, and it wasn't anything new--JFK said the same thing. I don't care whether he mentioned God or Buddha. I just didn't find it any more stirring than, as someone said earlier, your average Boy Scout on Americanism.
I like the man. I just don't think he's a great speaker. He speaks from the heart, to be sure, and that is why Americans trust him. But he's no William Jennings Bryan.
Exactly. If not now, when?
Noonan seems to be carrying someone's water. God willing, it will evaporate before too long.
"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."
You have no clue what you're talking about. Here a some random articles pulled from her archives. I'd like to see you write anything as talented. Perceptive? Hell, you probably can't even follow complex sentences.
The Greenwood Position
http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/?id=65000671
Gore Agonistes
http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/?id=65000699
'No Class'
http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/?id=110002554
Dem Problems
http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/?id=110003143
Hits and misses.
This one was a foul ball. She should be ashamed of herself.
Note that this one, written in Spring 03, predates today's conventional wisdom of "why the Dems keep losing" by 2 years.
Dem Problems
http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/?id=110003143
"only makes a pertinent point if she happens to bump into one by accident."
Snicker. You should apply to be the next analyst for CBS.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/responses.html?article_id=110006184
Reader Responses...
"Reader Responses..."
For the easily influenced? Gee, thats a great idea. I'll just trade all my knowledge of her work for what amounts to a self-selecting poll.
Oh, please... Excuse my link..It's just interesting to read..
How interesting. I didn't know there was so many Jennys registered on Free Republic.
"She should be embarrassed for being so out of touch with her constituency."
Her "constituency". Right. I'll fax her Senate staff immediately.
I have admired Peggy's articles for years..
I remain puzzled and dismayed at the "Way too much God" headline and the general tone of her article.
Are y'all trying to refer to Reagan's "eleventh commandment"?
"Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican?"
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