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'I Hope She Drowns'- The implosion of the Democratic Party
Opinion Journal Wall Street Journal ^ | 2/2/06 | PEGGY NOONAN

Posted on 02/02/2006 6:11:22 AM PST by areafiftyone

The president's State of the Union Address will be little noted and not long remembered. There was a sense that he was talking at, not to, the country. He asserted more than he persuaded, and he chose to redeclare his beliefs rather than argue for them in any depth. If you believe, as he does, that the No. 1 priority for the American government at this point in history is to lead an international movement for political democracy, and if you believe, as he truly seems to, that political democracy is in and of itself a certain bringer of world-wide peace, than this speech was for you. If not, not. It went through a reported 30 drafts, was touched by many hands, and seemed it. Not precisely a pudding without a theme, but a thin porridge.

It was the first State of the Union Mr. Bush has given in which Congress seemed utterly pre-9/11 in terms of battle lines drawn. Exactly half the chamber repeatedly leapt to its feet to applaud this banality or that. The other half remained resolutely glued to its widely cushioned seats. It seemed a metaphor for the Democratic Party: We don't know where to stand or what to stand for, and in fact we're not good at standing for anything anyway, but at least we know we can't stand Republicans.

There was only one unforgettable moment, and that was in a cutaway shot, of Hillary Clinton, who simply must do something about her face. When the president joked that two people his father loves are turning 60 this year, himself and Bill Clinton--why does he think constant references to that relationship work for him?--it was Mrs. Clinton's job to look mildly amused, or pleasant, or relatively friendly, or nonhostile.

(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 109th; botfest2006; bush43; noonan; sotu
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1 posted on 02/02/2006 6:11:23 AM PST by areafiftyone
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To: areafiftyone

Pinging for later read


2 posted on 02/02/2006 6:14:25 AM PST by Coop (FR = a lotta talk, but little action)
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To: areafiftyone

Oh...I thought they were quoting Ted Kennedy at Chappaquiddick.


3 posted on 02/02/2006 6:14:33 AM PST by TommyDale
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To: areafiftyone
" ... If you believe, as he does, that the No. 1 priority for the American government at this point in history is to lead an international movement for political democracy, and if you believe, as he truly seems to, that political democracy is in and of itself a certain bringer of world-wide peace, than this speech was for you."


It is, and I do.


May I be excused now? I peeked below and saw a reference to Hillary's face.

Being as I just ate ... Well, you understand.





4 posted on 02/02/2006 6:17:32 AM PST by G.Mason
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To: areafiftyone

Why does Peggy Noonan have such a hatred for President Bush? She sounds like a Democrat whenever she writes about him.


5 posted on 02/02/2006 6:18:35 AM PST by RebelBanker (If you can't do something smart, do something right.)
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To: G.Mason

LOL Good thing there are no photos in the WSJ.


6 posted on 02/02/2006 6:18:56 AM PST by areafiftyone (Politicians Are Like Diapers, Both Need To Be Changed Often And For The Same Reason!)
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To: areafiftyone
" ... If you believe, as he does, that the No. 1 priority for the American government at this point in history is to lead an international movement for political democracy, and if you believe, as he truly seems to, that political democracy is in and of itself a certain bringer of world-wide peace, than [?] this speech was for you."


It is, and I do.


May I be excused now? I peeked below and saw a reference to Hillary's face.

Being as I just ate ... Well, you understand.





7 posted on 02/02/2006 6:19:34 AM PST by G.Mason
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To: areafiftyone

Peggy Noonan is no longer required reading.


8 posted on 02/02/2006 6:19:59 AM PST by ClearCase_guy
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To: G.Mason

Ooops!


9 posted on 02/02/2006 6:20:24 AM PST by G.Mason
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To: areafiftyone

Peggy longs for the days when she was a young hottie and important, at least in her own mind.


10 posted on 02/02/2006 6:20:41 AM PST by Bahbah (An admitted Snow Flake and a member of Sam's Club)
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To: RebelBanker

My guess is, she did not get a gig at the White House at a time when she wanted one.


11 posted on 02/02/2006 6:21:27 AM PST by txrangerette ("We are fighting al-Qaeda, NOT Aunt Sadie"...Dick Cheney commenting on the wiretaps!!)
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To: areafiftyone

It was a high level visionary speech and extremely well-delivered. Quite a contrast to the Clinton tactical bean-counter speeches.


12 posted on 02/02/2006 6:21:42 AM PST by plain talk
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To: RebelBanker

I would characterize this as a typical Peggy 'rant'.


13 posted on 02/02/2006 6:23:04 AM PST by The Bronze Titan
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To: areafiftyone

Sorry Peggy, you're wrong on this one. While Bush's speech wasn't exactly oratory perfection, I thought it made the point well. And I didn't get the impression it was "pre 9/11" at all.


14 posted on 02/02/2006 6:23:23 AM PST by RockinRight (Attention RNC...we're the party of Reagan, not FDR...)
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To: areafiftyone

Good one from Peggy.

I especially like her Comments about Tom Shales of "The Washington Post." Mr. Shales, while a very clever writer and critic, is one of the biggest snobs in the nation. He looks down his nose at most of America, from both sides of the political aisle. But I'll bet he's got a George Bush doll on his desk that he sticks pins in on a regular basis.

As for Senator Clinton, Ms. Noonan points out what most Americans know already: The junior senator from New York is an unfeeling, calculating, intellectual cypher who thinks she knows everything, but truly stands for nothing.

Then there are the Democrats. They are the most superb complainers in the land, but have not had an original idea since the 1930s. Most of those, in retrospect, turned out to be dreadful, and still harness the nation to a panoply of entitlement programs that threaten to bankrupt us.

As for myself, well, I'm gonna have another cup of coffee.


15 posted on 02/02/2006 6:23:40 AM PST by RexBeach ("There is no substitute for victory." -Douglas MacArthur)
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To: areafiftyone
It seemed a metaphor for the Democratic Party: We don't know where to stand or what to stand for, and in fact we're not good at standing for anything anyway, but at least we know we can't stand Republicans.

Peggy "gets" the dems...

16 posted on 02/02/2006 6:23:41 AM PST by GOPJ (President Bush to Democrats: "Hindsight is not wisdom. Second-guessing is not strategy")
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To: areafiftyone
Peggy's probably referring to this pic...


17 posted on 02/02/2006 6:24:13 AM PST by johnny7 (“Iuventus stultorum magister”)
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To: RebelBanker
It's all about age...and her feelings that she's smarter than those who put where she is today.

I've had a very hard time reading her crap [carping about anything the GOP does that's not the way she would do - kind of a feminine Pat Buchanan] for a very long time now!

18 posted on 02/02/2006 6:25:05 AM PST by harpu ( "...it's better to be hated for who you are than loved for someone you're not!")
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To: areafiftyone
She's correct about Bush (1 & 2) and Clinton. Is it the "Friends close-Enemies Closer" philosophy that causes Bush to gush over Clinton or does he really respect him.
19 posted on 02/02/2006 6:25:16 AM PST by Mulch (tm)
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To: areafiftyone

I loved the speech, particularly the national security portion. It struck just the right tone and Peggy sounds like she's just a ticked off wanna-be speech writer upset that the president didn't consult with her.


20 posted on 02/02/2006 6:25:24 AM PST by Peach
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