Posted on 01/21/2005 4:19:45 AM PST by Mikmur
PEGGY NOONAN
Way Too Much God Was the president's speech a case of "mission inebriation"?
The inaugural address itself was startling. It left me with a bad feeling, and reluctant dislike. Rhetorically, it veered from high-class boilerplate to strong and simple sentences, but it was not pedestrian. George W. Bush's second inaugural will no doubt prove historic because it carried a punch, asserting an agenda so sweeping that an observer quipped that by the end he would not have been surprised if the president had announced we were going to colonize Mars. A short and self-conscious preamble led quickly to the meat of the speech: the president's evolving thoughts on freedom in the world. Those thoughts seemed marked by deep moral seriousness and no moral modesty.
The president's speech seemed rather heavenish. It was a God-drenched speech. This president, who has been accused of giving too much attention to religious imagery and religious thought, has not let the criticism enter him. God was invoked relentlessly. "The Author of Liberty." "God moves and chooses as He wills. We have confidence because freedom is the permanent hope of mankind . . . the longing of the soul."
And yet such promising moments were followed by this, the ending of the speech. "Renewed in our strength--tested, but not weary--we are ready for the greatest achievements in the history of freedom." 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.
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
Wow. That was a surprise from her. Seperating the wheat from the chaff I guess.
I don't know what Peggy's problem is. From where I sit, everybody around me knows where we are headed, and Bush's speech plainly laid it out. The United States is acting as a conduit for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which also translates into an umbrella of grace for Israel. We are in a global holy war against the state-worship religion of Communism and the UN, and against the totalitarian grip of the Islamofascists.
What's so hard to swallow about that? Is there something wrong with just plainly saying it?
Freedom is from God. It's all through the Bible. While I disagree with the Prez on a few issues, he's right in the groove with his vision.
I agree, maybe she partied a bit too much with her liberal friends.
Her outrage over the music is strange as well. Personally I found it to be fitting.
i agree, i heard her on Foxnews right afterwards and she didn't react this way at all. she said she had to "think about it" awhile, but there was no negative reaction.
She did a 180 within hours.......breathless w/admiration for the speech immediately after it, then scathing in comment a few hours later. Which is it, Peggy?
I think GWB disagrees with you and that is the crux of the speech. ONly time will tell dont you think?
If you cannot see what is wrong with your statements and why people might not like the ideas you express, you are just plain obtuse.
Quick word count FWIW:
freedom - 27
liberty - 15
God - 3
soul - 3
Creator - 0
The following letter has been submitted via the OpinionJournal article response feature. Contents of response as follows:
Date: Fri, January 21st, 2005
Subject:
Re: Way Too Much God
Comment:
Peggy, I admire you very much. I think you are without peer in writing skills. I am not a religious zealot, but I think you are way off base in your criticism of GW's speech. I think Bush's pledge to end tyranny in the world was a grand gesture. I think freedom deserves such a pledge from those who enjoy such an existance. We are retired military which may explain our fervent patriotism and desire to spread freedom. My husband served two tours in Vietnam which may explain our knowledge that there can never be "way too much God" in a speech or in life. We will continue to appreciate you.
She had changed her mind by the time Hannity and Colmes aired, because that's when I first heard her criticism of the speech.
I actually liked the transcendent rhetoric myself, but it would've been nice to have some practical realism in the form of how many divisions will be added to the military in order to actually achieve the soaring objectives..
you have to wonder who she talked to or what she heard in the interim to cause such a dramatic turnaround. she was praising it immediately afterwards.
You said it best in your post #9
His references to God and his faith were wonderful and definitely not overdone.
On the other hand his foreign policy while extreme if it could be accomplished more power to him.
That's what the State of the Union speech will be about.
Wow, she's one miserable gal. Wonder why she has her panties in a twist.
Peggy, take a deep breath and stop taking yourself so seriously.
Why do people fear GOD so much? Could it be that something in ones life is not right?
Just a thought.
What I noted was alot of FEAR. As if talking of wanting the world to be a freer place was a fearful thing. Like a bunch of scared old maids are fearing someone rocking the boat. I think he disavowed the policies of the past, those of cosying up to tyrants. The very policies that the dems say resulted in 911. I don't think GWB is starting a military crusade.
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