Peggy Noonan is all wrong on this one I am sorry to say.
Peggy, a Roman Catholic is obviously uncomfortable with
Protestants, especially Evangelicals.
She should have slept on this one, given it some more thought, and then opened her mouth.
1. The Presidential Inaugural Committee is appointed by the President and is in charge of all things to do with the ceremony. The Chairman was Trent Lott, who was probably in charge of the music. I liked Orrin Hatch's song, disliked Ashcroft's. I was glad to hear "God of Our Fathers." Peggy knows who chose the songs, so why is this in the column about the President?
2. I dislike the story of the alarm at the hotel; it smacks of name dropping ("I was at the same hotel as Warren Buffett and James Baker") and is irrelevant to the point of the column.
3. Her criticisms of the speech are not so much stylistic, but rather critical of the content. She isn't griping about the phrases; her main criticism is that the President has chosen an impossible goal. Perhaps so, but although removal of all tyranny may be undoable, striving toward that goal will improve the world.
I find it "grating" that someone who writes for a living chooses to disguise as literary criticism her actual complaint about the speech: too much God and a big goal. Her complaint is about President Bush's dream for our nation and the world.
I will have more to say after I have gotten more sleep, but my last and personal opinion is that she has filled a column with one part self-importance, one part envy, and a huge dash of pessimism.
She is definitely all wrong. Maybe the WSJ should publish a correction. From what I observed yesterday, there were many in attendance with heads bowed during the speech-just soaking it in-it was truly insiring and surprisingly provacative. Bush will never back down or water down his beliefs. Bush loves God and will base decisions for our common future on his relationship with the Lord.