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 ...
Trandscends bizarre or is just plain brilliant.
To quote Common Tator:
"President Bush 43 knows that no one in history is more hated by Democrats than He. And he knows that everytime a Democrat sees Bubba with his Dad, they go ballistic. The only word that comes to a Democrats mind when they see Bubba and Dubya is Traitor. The Clintons are traitors to the Democratic party. Imagine how much that helps Hillary's run for the Democratic Presidential nomination.
Nothing could make a democrat feel more betrayed than seeing a Clinton with a Bush. And the Bushs have noting to lose and everything to gain. Hillary Clinton has everything to lose and nothing to gain.
George Bush is never going to run for office again. His approval by the base means nothing. But Hillary wants to get the Democratic Nomination.. Imagine how hurful it is to the former co-presidents for them to be seen by Democrats as Brother And Sister to the Hated GEORGE W. BUSH.
IF you want a Democrat to feel the need to get even with a Clinton, then have George W. Bush call Bubba his brother. .. a member of the Bush Family.
The truth is Bubba's real Dad never gave a damn if Bubba lived or died and his foster Dad beat him and treated him like crap.
When Bubba's choice is costing Hillary the Presidency or feeling like he has a real Dad and brothers that care for him, it is obvious that Bubba could gived a crap about hillary being president.
Polls show only 16 percent of voters support Hillary for president. That means less than half the Democrats have her as their choice for the Democratic Nominee. Then Bubba drived nails in her presidential coffin by sucking up the the hated Bushes. I'll bet Hillary wants to kill Bubba."
See post #160 above.
Great article once again, Peggy Noonan.
Whenever the weirdos and pretend-conservatives on Free Republic knock you, well then you know you just had an article that you "knocked out of the park".
Homerun!
You are spot on. I love her writing, too, but her elitist affectations are very off-putting. The hair-tossing, the lowered eyelids, and the tone and inflection make me change the channel.
Was that taken about 20 years ago when whe was only 50 or so?
I was stunned when I read this part of his column:
The movie spends its first eight minutes unreeling credits and showing us details germane and irrelevant as Flight 93 is prepared for takeoff; the pilots suit up, passengers wait at the gate (one woman carrying the book "What to Expect When You're Expecting"), and the terrorists shave -- one of them even, for some reason, shaves his chest.
Can you believe a man who writes for The Washington Post did not know the symbolic meaning of the terrorists shaving before they got on the planes?
My only explanation is that Peggy Noonan was watching a different State of the Union speech than I was. I thought Bush was pretty much spot on.
I'm a real conservative, and not one bit weird, and I believe her criticism of the speech was elitist and wrong, and her juxtaposition of it with the accurate assessment of the imploding Dems poorly done.
This article is barely a single.
Perhaps your disdain for the President has clouded your objectivity??
Peggy's sort of gentle, poetic rhapsodies would not work for our President and she should realize that. Karen Hughes rules!
You're right.
Her style is completely unlike his, and therefore could not be delivered with the force and conviction that he does so well in his own style.
The one thing that is notable in her critiques of the President's speeches, is that she doesn't take into consideration real communication. This President communicates his ideas and his character extremely well in his speeches, and that fact seems to have gone flying right over Peggy's educated head.....
Absolutely right. She sounds like an old woman when she writes anymore.
I have no "disdain for the President". I do have a demand that FACTS enter into most political discussion.
You and your type belittle facts. You and your type believe that cheering all things Republican is somehow good for the nation, even though this has caused the Republicans to move further and further left, as they see a large part of their base cheer all their leftist moves.
You and your type help the RATs and the liberal. You should be ashamed of yourself. If you are not, then you are not very bright as you and your type harm the conservative cause and help the liberal cause. The RINOs in the US Senate, e.g., have grown from seven to about fifteen, thanks to liberals in drag like you.
I will stick with facts, the conservative cause and critique of Republicans when they act like liberals.
Peggy Noonan is a gifted wordsmith who, beginning with the passing of the Pope and the second inaugural address has been too much in touch with her Manhattan cultural influences and her articles, once some of my favorites, have now fallen into the classification of "might read if I have nothing better to do."
I have read many of her books over the years and feel she is a gifted writer in invoking an era or a personality, but as a daily commentator, it is apparent she is influenced by wherever her townhouse is that month.
The main point of the column, the democratic base sentiment of hate for their reasonable members, is sound, but her manner of framing these observations, in things that will keep the NY cocktail circuit happy, saddens me.
THAT type?
Now what else were you saying?? That you are NOT my type?
I already knew that.
didn't you know?
Tread is the ONLY true conservative.
LOL
Peggy Noonan has become Pat Buchanan in a dress...
Kristol still has his nose out of joint that Bush beat McCain in the 2000 primaries (and feels Bush to be intellectually inferior to himself, at least.)
It has always been apparent that Kristol believes the wrong guy got elected and looks for each and every time to point out a flaw.
As to the State of the Union speech, that is really a group team pep talk designed for the drive-by viewers/voters not throwing red meat to the choir (big donors).
It's a lot like a Sunday sermon on Christmas and Easter meant for the once only or rare church attendee, whereas, Bible Lessons are for those wishing to grow their faith.
Criticize Peggy and you're not a 'true' conservative according to Tread.
I couldn't agree with you more. I said I liked some of her writings, but I still think she gives the impression of being an elitist when she appears on television with all her dramatic mannerisms. If a person's education makes them feel and act like an elitist; then their education hasn't really benefited them....there's always someone smarter than the elitist thinks he/she is. No one should think more of himself than he/she deserves.
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