A Sourpuss? Moi? [Peggy Noonan responds to her last column on the inaugural speech]

WSJ - Opinion Journal ^ | 1-26-05 | Peggy Noonan

[bellevuesbest]

I have been called old, jaded, a sourpuss. Far worse, I have been called French. A response is in order.

You know the dispute. Last week I slammed the president's inaugural address. I was not alone, but I came down hard, early and in one of the most highly read editorial pages in America. Bill Buckley and David Frum also had critical reactions. Bill Safire on the other hand called it one of the best second inaugurals ever, and commentators from right and left (Bill Kristol, E.J. Dionne) found much to praise and ponder. (To my mind the best response to the inaugural was the grave, passionate essay of Mark Helprin.) So herewith some questions and answers:

A week later, do I stand by my views?

Yes. If I wrote it today I wouldn't be softer, but harder.

[farmer18th]

Bill Buckley ...also had critical reaction..

Not a bad sign. Not bad at all. Perhaps Bush is beginning to feel the conviction of his conversion.

[jennyjenny]

But cleaning up the garbage is not pretty. And it sometimes leaves the neighborhood in an even bigger mess than it had been."

Huh? This line in her column makes no sense to me at all. Is that all she could come up with to try to support her claim? That's some garbage.

[Petronski]

Powerline summed it up best: "If our tent isn't large enough to hold Noonan, then we're in trouble"

If Peggy is sprinting for the tent exit, we should not hold her in.

[farmer18th]

"Here is an unhappy fact: Certain authoritarians and tyrants whose leadership is illegitimate and unjust have functioned in history as--ugly imagery coming--garbage-can lids on their societies. They keep freedom from entering, it is true. But when they are removed, the garbage--the freelance terrorists, the grievance merchants, the ethnic nationalists--pops out all over. Yes, freedom is good and to be strived for. But cleaning up the garbage is not pretty. And it sometimes leaves the neighborhood in an even bigger mess than it had been."

Noonan prefers "tidy" tyranny.

[syriacus]

we have you and your kind to show us the way.

How flattering of you to say that, but I'm obliged to point out that Peggy is the one with the column who has made a good living out of "showing people the way."

I wonder what position she is jockeying for at the moment.

[Don'tMessWithTexas]

PN thinks that hundreds of millions of people, suffering under the weight of tyranny, are comparable to garbage, and their dictators are the ones that keep a lid on them so they don't mess up the neighborhood. Interesting metaphor. Quite revealing.

I said after her previous rant was posted on this board, that PN had gone over to the dark side. This column simply proves that.

BTW, she stated that the title to her column was wicked. But she did not denounce her description of the speech as too "heavenish" and "God-drenched." PN just doesn't get it.

She, like others, have crossed over to that dark slimy place. But, I don't hate her. I pity her.

[syriacus]

Noonan prefers "tidy" tyranny.

Great way to put it.

[Petronski]

Makes it sound as if the garbage does not stink as long as we hold our noses.

Brilliant!

[jennyjenny]

her criticism of the speech WAS more offensive than that of other's ...

I agree. IMO, she was more critical of the speech than Chrissy Matthew was. If that is truly her opinion, fine. I am just surprised at the amount of criticism she is slinging. It comes off as jealously to me, whether she is in fact jealous or not.

[MEG33]

I had finally settled into..long, busy day, tiredness..unfortunate column dashed off ,colored with a bit of speech envy..I was puzzled but willing to say "we all make mistakes"

Her "rebuttal" to criticism column has caused me to reexamine my opinion. Her garbage can statement gives me great pause...She did not take responsibility for the title or her drenched in God remarks either.
She has criticisized the president before in her columns..fine..

She is not "getting it" and I am getting a whiff of superiority complex.

[farmer18th]

Noonan is a woman of words, not ideas. That's why she's a speech writer.

[Petronski]

The real garbage is in her head. We're just catching a glimpse of it:

And we must do nothing that provides our foes with ammunition with
which they can accuse us of conceit, immaturity or impetuousness.

[spit]

[Petronski]

Noonan is a woman of words, not ideas. That's why she's a speech writer.

Interesting analysis. So, whose ideas are these? Whose speech are we reading today?

In other words, who's the snake in the woodpile?

[syriacus]

Huh? This line in her column makes no sense to me at all. Is that all she could come up with to try to support her claim? That's some garbage.

The garbage metaphor is a surprisingly weak one coming from Peggy. We could speculate that she wrote the column too hastily or that someone has kidnapped her and is writing columns in her stead.

[farmer18th]

And we must do nothing that provides our foes with ammunition with which they can accuse us of conceit, immaturity or impetuousness

Our foes will do that if we sit still and fold our hands.

Is she going through the change?

[Jackie]

.

To: Peggy Noonan

Peggy, maybe there's a spot for you on Air America with Jeanne Garofalo and Randi Rhodes.

This White House didn't want you as a speechwriter, but maybe Hillary will give you a chance.

.

[Petronski]

Heh heh. Don't know. Don't wanna know.


Whatever's wrong, I hope she recovers.

[gopwinsin04]

Peggy cant seem to figure out that we are in a world wide 'clash of civilizations' war here..

[farmer18th]

In other words, who's the snake in the woodpile?

Actually, if you believe Noonan, the woodpile is full of snakes and you should just get used to it. Personally, I prefer a good sharp shovel with a long handle.