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,

[Selkie]

Im surprised too, sound svery different from the Peggy who wrote this just over a year ago:

There's a big Mary of Fatima across the street at the local church, too, so I am surrounded by Mary. My having her there is my way of saying, "A likeness of the beauty and sweetness of the mother of God is here in my garden and I hope it brings you peace."


http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/?id=110004488

[Fenris6]

"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."

Ditto. Every now and then she disappoints me too. [shrug] And sometimes she is...[gasp]...WRONG. But the pathetic ad hominem attacks against her here seem to spring from something else.

[MEG33]

Seems they were flying both ways...An attack on the President's speech, an attack on or criticism of Peggy's opinion or motivation, counter personal attacks on freepers who criticized Peggy, counter accusations of censorship of Bush criticism. Rebuttals of censorship/counter accusations of blind followers...etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, as the world turns

[MEG33]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1326027/posts

[k2blader]

What else is FR for? :-)

[MEG33]

Beats me.. ;)

[iconoclast]

Excellent post.

Sadly, you're pretty much a voice in the wilderness on this thread.

[MEG33]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1326027/posts
Bush's words must be heard
Atlanta Journal Constitution ^ | January 23, 2005 | Jim Wooten


Posted on 01/22/2005 4:30:58 AM CST by Cincinatus' Wife

[k2blader]

Dubya, beneath placating platitudes, seems to be announcing to the world that America is coming to its rescue.

I maintain that that is not America's calling.

Agreed. Additionally, the "words of the Koran" bit was what really stunned me.

[MEG33]

"Today, we utter no prayer more fervently than the ancient prayer for peace on Earth. Yet history has shown that peace will not come, nor will our freedom be preserved, by good will alone. There are those in the world who scorn our vision of human dignity and freedom. One nation, the Soviet Union, has conducted the greatest military buildup in the history of man, building arsenals of awesome offensive weapons. 30
We have made progress in restoring our defense capability. But much remains to be done. There must be no wavering by us, nor any doubts by others, that America will meet her responsibilities to remain free, secure, and at peace. 31
There is only one way safely and legitimately to reduce the cost of national security, and that is to reduce the need for it. And this we are trying to do in negotiations with the Soviet Union. We are not just discussing limits on a further increase of nuclear weapons. We seek, instead, to reduce their number. We seek the total elimination one day of nuclear weapons from the face of the Earth. 32
Now, for decades, we and the Soviets have lived under the threat of mutual assured destruction; if either resorted to the use of nuclear weapons, the other could retaliate and destroy the one who had started it. Is there either logic or morality in believing that if one side threatens to kill tens of millions of our people, our only recourse is to threaten killing tens of millions of theirs? 33
I have approved a research program to find, if we can, a security shield that would destroy nuclear missiles before they reach their target. It wouldn't kill people, it would destroy weapons. It wouldn't militarize space, it would help demilitarize the arsenals of Earth. It would render nuclear weapons obsolete. We will meet with the Soviets, hoping that we can agree on a way to rid the world of the threat of nuclear destruction. 34
We strive for peace and security, heartened by the changes all around us. Since the turn of the century, the number of democracies in the world has grown fourfold. Human freedom is on the march, and nowhere more so than our own hemisphere. Freedom is one of the deepest and noblest aspirations of the human spirit. People, worldwide, hunger for the right of self-determination, for those inalienable rights that make for human dignity and progress. 35
America must remain freedom's staunchest friend, for freedom is our best ally. 36
And it is the world's only hope, to conquer poverty and preserve peace. Every blow we inflict against poverty will be a blow against its dark allies of oppression and war. Every victory for human freedom will be a victory for world peace."
From :Ronald Reagan's second inaugural address.

[MEG33]

http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres62.html
Ronald Reagan
Second Inaugural Address

[MEG33]

We strive for peace and security, heartened by the changes all around us. Since the turn of the century, the number of democracies in the world has grown fourfold. Human freedom is on the march, and nowhere more so than our own hemisphere. Freedom is one of the deepest and noblest aspirations of the human spirit. People, worldwide, hunger for the right of self-determination, for those inalienable rights that make for human dignity and progress. 35
America must remain freedom's staunchest friend, for freedom is our best ally. 36
And it is the world's only hope, to conquer poverty and preserve peace. Every blow we inflict against poverty will be a blow against its dark allies of oppression and war. Every victory for human freedom will be a victory for world peace."
From :Ronald Reagan's second inaugural address.

[iconoclast]

This thread could be reduced by a several hundred posts if the personal attacks on and amateur psychoanalysis of Ms. Noonan were removed.

It would wonderful if we could all keep in mind this old adage:

Great people talk about ideas, average people talk about things, and small people talk about people.

Don't hold your breath. ;o)

[iconoclast]

Bush is doing the same thing on a far grander scale.

You can say that again!

First it was just an "axis of evil", now its 2/3 of the globe. And he still doesn't seem to be able to say "radical islamists"!

We had a megalomaniac, guns and butter, big-government President once before. At least he had the good grace to admit his mistakes and quit.

[iconoclast]

I wish one of you folks would post what/when she said whatever you keep citing.

[iconoclast]

you really should make sure that have yourself checked out what's going on.

My observation is that for quite a few folks here ALL their information (as in exclusively) is acquired on FR threads and any suggestion that they should take a moment to leave for another viewpoint is, shall we say, not graciously received.

[iconoclast]

There has been a disconcerting attack on people who disagree with the President here lately.

You're right momma, but its been going on for longer than "lately".

No one is excluded from their zealous wrath ... not Noonan, not Novak, not Buckley.

It's bizarre, dare say scary.

[section9]

You either want to fight these people, or you don't.

A retreat into "Festung Amerika" will not help.

Be Seeing You,

Chris

[Don'tMessWithTexas]

My friend, referring to your brethren on FR as "retards" tends to undermine the message that you were attempting to convey.

I believe that it is Noonan who needs to act like we are in a majority. Slamming the President the night of his inauguration, referring to his vision as "mission inebriation," and saying that the speech was "drenched" with God is more than a polite and civil disagreement. From a fellow republican, her comments do not appear to be constructive.

Personally, I find her comments debasing to the Presidnet and obnoxious. I cannot understand why she thinks that the speech referred to God too much. But rather than accuse her of anything, though, I, and I suspect many others, will choose to deal with her like I deal with all debasing and obnoxious person: I will ignore her. And I suspect her irrelevance will become apparent.

To paraphrase the immortal words of Mr. T, in Rocky III, I don't hate Miss Noonan, I pity the fool.

[caddie]

Good idea.