I didn't think President Bush's words were that evocative, but then, I don't think Peggy's article is as critical as others do. One phrase she called "over the top" and I believe that's the only criticism she didn't balance with equalizing words of praise.
Peggy obviously loves President Bush, but that doesn't mean she's in lock step with everything he says and does. And I'm with Rush...Peggy should be allowed her opinion on this speech, without having her conservative credentials impugned, as some have done.
I'm sure Peggy knew her words would be used by the left to create a wedge between conservatives. And quoted ad nauseum by the likes of Chris Matthews as proof the speech was seriously flawed. (The libs love it when one of our own goes "off the reservation".) But we gotta remember, even Laura chided hubby for his "dead or alive" comment. Bush can handle his women just fine. And would any among us want Peggy Noonan to become George Bush's slavish Eleanor Clift? I don't think so.
Then why did she say it? It wasn't a matter of conscience concerning an important issue. She wasn't disagreeing with Bush over, say, his immigration policy. That's what really bothers me, and what greatly lessens Noonan in my eyes.
Her column was ungracious and petty, she knew it would be used against Bush and conservatives, and--most important--it was at odds with what she's said in the past. Peggy Noonan of all people saying a speech is "God-drenched"! It would be funny, except that she handed the Left a few rounds of ammunition. Leftists and the media these days focus enough on what they consider the takeover of the Republican Party by overly religious nutjobs.
Honestly, where does any Christian get off saying there's "too much God" in anything? It's absurd. Then there's the whole matter of her thinking the speech was too ambitious -- a call to create heaven on earth. That's also at odds with what she's said in the past.
The more I think about it, the less inclined I am to give Noonan the benefit of the doubt. There's too much about this that smacks of self-promotion.