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 ...
between that and the usual subjects on here screaming about the President's references to the Muslims yesterday....sheesh
usually i like peggy
reaganite and all
too bad she is cranky lately
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1325165/posts
Peggy Noonan: Way Too Much God
Wall Street Journal ^ | January 21, 2005 | Peggy Noonan
Posted on 01/20/2005 11:33:31 PM CST by RWR8189
Yeah really... with friends like us, the President doesn't need enemies!
Maybe she feels snubbed by the Bush admin...who knows, but she needs to get it together.
I know...
now on the Inaugruation thread, some guy is taking one sentence out of the speech out of context and saying the President wants communism or something....
The ACLU must have dropped a load into its pants after hearing President Bush's address yesterday... and Michael Newdow's glass jaw dropped off his mugly face.
Ms. Noonan has jumped the shark.
I loved all the references to God.
I don't think anyone ought to get their knickers iin a know because Peg didn't like the speech. I understood her point and while disagreeing with it, this was not a malicious review nor was it extreme. She has a point and any of the "realists" might agree with her. This was an idealistic speech and I am surprised so many are taking it concretely. I don't think GWB promised to extend freedom in the next four years and make a utopia. I think he was thinking long range and as a posture rather than an action. But that is just me, I interpreted it in a nuanced way. But Peggy didn't. Otherwise she loves GWB just like us.
To prevent duplication, please do not alter the heading. Thanks.
Peggy doesn't get it here. Bush now has nothing to lose. The "real" Bush will emerge more and more, and this man is . . . A CHRISTIAN!!! Deal with it Peggy.
You are right, my friend. Though she may not be a Lib, she IS a patronizing, holier than thou Elitist.(a Rarity, I grant you, but perhaps a RINO in Patriot's clothing?)
Thought you might like to see this.
I thought I had dreamed her firat reaction for awhile..Something really happened to her between her first opinion and this column.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.