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 ...
She's now inside the beltway, and trying to have it both ways. She has lost sight of what us red state conservatives care about.
That's why she thought the speech was a flop, when we were out here standing and cheering and throwing our fists in the air in agreement.
She needs to come and live in the Midwest for a while and get her bearings back. The pollution in DC has messed with her mind.
If she were inside the beltway mentally, and that was her only problem, she still is not acting rationally. Her natural consituency is Republicans and Conservatives, and lots of them are inside the beltway, too. I think it is more than that. She is in direct contradiction to her own interests, UNLESS she is unhinged and cannot act in her interests, or she hopes to go some third party way or something like that.
Exactly and everytime he gets that reaction from Ms. Clinton that is tailor made for Republican ads. She hates it when he is nice to Bill Clinton and almost always reacts in a negative way.
If anyone noticed, Pres Bush got a twinkle in his eye and a smile before looking at the Dems and making a comment like that. That was one of those gotcha moments.
Maybe they weren't grateful enough to her for taking off time to work on his campaign. Or maybe they didn't hire her to write speeches. I do know she hasn't had a lot of praise for Bush since he was re-elected.
>> Why does Peggy Noonan have such a hatred for President Bush? She sounds like a Democrat whenever she writes about him. <<
What? She loves the guy. She occasionally sounds all school-girlish. But she does have a point: President Bush does not persuade anyone to believe as he does. He simply instructs how his actions are necessary to promote his values.
You know, I first started to break from Peggy, abeit subconsciously, when she was arguably doing her best writing. In the weeks after 9/11, she was at her best, and I think her writing was from the heart, if not even from the gut.
But there was this elitist tone even then. As she expressed her gratitude and admiration for the fire, police and Port Authority men who lost their lives, the undertone was: "I LOVE firemen! All my friends on the Upper West side should have a pet fireman! Aren't I great for adopting a pet fireman!?"
I remember cringing when I felt that tone coming out of her writing.
Could it be that it's not a "gush," just a clever trivialization of the Far Left's idol(s).
If memory serves me correctly, Peggy Noonan wrote the speech for President Bush #1 that used the phrases, "a thousand points of light" and "Read my lips, no new taxes". That speech is not remembered for its' brilliance, but for the fact the Democrats used it to "bash Bush" when he raised taxes! The speech given Tuesday by Pres. Bush #2 was a 'superior' speech.
Reading your posts, I wondered if she might be angling for a job with the (possible) McCain campaign.
The McCain angle is a possibility. Because if her target audience is conservative Republicans, she's completely off track.
I had forgotten that! But yes, there was an arrogance in her tone toward the heroes of 9/11.
Yep, and since she is an attention seeker, she receives it when she writes critical articles of the president.
Now THAT is a 'memorable' line if ever there was one. I'm very glad that the President didn't include any of that variety in his SOTU!
Peggy, this WH doesn't need you to be 'remembered.'
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I was singularly unimpressed by Bush's speech also. I read nothing in Noonan's piece to earn the invective she's getting here.
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I agree.
President Bush uses symbolism in his speech that many take literally. For one who reads his Bible, symbolism can be a powerful tool in communications. The relationship between Bill Clinton and President Bush 41 is the proverbial father and son relationship drawn together by a common bond. Bush 43 reinforced that symbol by saying that was the same love his father had for him. It also was a Christian love. Such was also a relationship that drives DemonRATs to rage. If I were to characterize that relationship, I would say it symbolically represents a cross that does have its impact if you are a DemonRAT. The look on Hitlary's face reflects that horror as some demon that had a cross flashed in her face. It was good to pick out the below the surface hits on the DemonRATs in the SOTU.
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Did Peggy write the 'read my lips' line?? Oh, that's funny!
Now THAT is a 'memorable' line if ever there was one. I'm very glad that the President didn't include any of that variety in his SOTU!
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The problem was not the line itself, but, that the person speaking it did not mean it!
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