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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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To: Bahbah
I am sick of Peggy. Never anything positive to say about Bush. Her Inaugural speech critique was the end for me, and this is more of that.
21
posted on
02/02/2006 6:25:28 AM PST
by
jackv
(just shakin' my head)
To: Bahbah
Is it just me, or has Peggy NOT aged well? She's only about 55, but I think she looks older than that. In fact, I'd always figured her at early 60s or so until I looked up her bio (born in 1950).
22
posted on
02/02/2006 6:25:36 AM PST
by
RockinRight
(Attention RNC...we're the party of Reagan, not FDR...)
To: johnny7
OMG that is gross! I"m eating my breakfast! Or rather I WAS eating my breakfast!
23
posted on
02/02/2006 6:26:06 AM PST
by
areafiftyone
(Politicians Are Like Diapers, Both Need To Be Changed Often And For The Same Reason!)
To: RebelBanker
Why does Peggy Noonan have such a hatred for President Bush? I read her carping as jealousy more than anything. Her comments are more about the content/construct of his speeches than they are about what he is trying to communicate.
24
posted on
02/02/2006 6:26:15 AM PST
by
IamConservative
(Who does not trust a man of principle? A man who has none.)
To: areafiftyone
Peggy Noonan is one of the most articulate and brilliant writers ever. The most salient point of this article is this: "How will a sane, stable, serious Democrat get the nomination in 2008 when these are the activists to whom the appeal must be made? Republicans have crazies. All parties do. But in the case of the Democrats--the leader of their party, after all, is the unhinged Howard Dean--the lunatics seem increasingly to be taking over the long-term health-care facility. Great parties die this way, or show that they are dying." The news on another post this morning was about the feud between Howard Dean and Harry Reid......THAT was just HILARIOUS! And that is proof enough for me that they are imploding and I haven't enjoyed anything so much since, well, Dan Rather's implosion. It can't GET any better than THIS.......CAN IT???
25
posted on
02/02/2006 6:27:02 AM PST
by
poncho67
To: areafiftyone
Tom Shales is excrable. He is a heaping, steaming pile of male bovine fecal effluvia. He is a pus-filled boil on the Butt of Humanity.
He is in a league with Michael Olesker.
26
posted on
02/02/2006 6:27:24 AM PST
by
sauropod
("Here Lies Joe Biden, Buried Under His Own Words.")
To: The Bronze Titan
Well, Peggy must surely have been in contact with Bill Kristol. He continually considers himself the smartest person in the room.
After the State of the Union address, Kristol's comments were absolutely stomach wretching, then I remembered that was precisely why I cancelled my subscription to the "Weekly Standard."
27
posted on
02/02/2006 6:27:33 AM PST
by
zerosix
(Native Sunflower)
To: areafiftyone
The venom is bubbling on websites like Kos, where Tuesday afternoon, after the Alito vote, various leftists wrote in such comments as "F--- our democratic leaders," "Vichy Democrats" and "F--- Mary Landrieu, I hope she drowns." The old union lunch-pail Democrats are dead, the intellects of the Kennedy and Johnson era retired or gone, and this--I hope she drowns--seems, increasingly, to be the authentic voice of the Democratic base. Dems are showing themselves for what they really are... and it's ugly.
28
posted on
02/02/2006 6:28:07 AM PST
by
GOPJ
(President Bush to Democrats: "Hindsight is not wisdom. Second-guessing is not strategy")
To: txrangerette
....that's what I'm thinking too.....she used to be one of Reagan's speech writers...and probably had a lot of clout at the time...but now that President Bush is President...well....you can put 2 and 2 together....
To: RexBeach
Peggy nails it about the current true sentiment of the 'Rat party.
Most of the people on this thread apparently didn't read the same article I did.
30
posted on
02/02/2006 6:28:45 AM PST
by
sauropod
("Here Lies Joe Biden, Buried Under His Own Words.")
To: areafiftyone
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?The answer to Peggy's question transcends "bizarre."
To: ClearCase_guy
LOL, especially since her words were written almost verbatim on the FR SOTU Live thread!
Very predictable.
32
posted on
02/02/2006 6:29:42 AM PST
by
roses of sharon
("I would rather men ask why I have no statue, than why I have one". ) (Cato the Elder)
To: areafiftyone
33
posted on
02/02/2006 6:29:57 AM PST
by
HEY4QDEMS
(Learn from the past, don't live in it.)
To: sauropod
I like your tagline.
I met Mr. Biden in Boston many years ago after he had just been elected to the Senate...and he hasn't stopped talking since then. My word, the man can talk. Ugh.
34
posted on
02/02/2006 6:30:35 AM PST
by
RexBeach
("There is no substitute for victory." -Douglas MacArthur)
To: IamConservative
I can see why you have to tell people you're a conservative. With some of your comments, you seem more like a dem...
35
posted on
02/02/2006 6:31:31 AM PST
by
GOPJ
(President Bush to Democrats: "Hindsight is not wisdom. Second-guessing is not strategy")
To: areafiftyone
36
posted on
02/02/2006 6:32:46 AM PST
by
maggief
(and the dessert cart rolls on ...)
To: areafiftyone
Mr. Shales said it was shameful that vulgar dramatizers would "exploit" the pain of those on the flight and those they left behind. Or as he put it, he had, innocent that he is, thought it "unthinkable" that "even the sleaziest producers" would "exploit any aspect of a nightmare that the nation had witnessed in horror." I bet he'll have nothing but praise for Oliver Stone's upcoming 9/11 film.
37
posted on
02/02/2006 6:32:54 AM PST
by
dfwgator
To: RockinRight
Aging is in the genes. Depends on the genes you inherit. She probably has bad genes.
38
posted on
02/02/2006 6:34:39 AM PST
by
areafiftyone
(Politicians Are Like Diapers, Both Need To Be Changed Often And For The Same Reason!)
To: areafiftyone
There was only one unforgettable moment, and that was in a cutaway shot, of Hillary Clinton, who simply must do something about her face
Why - what's wrong with her face?
39
posted on
02/02/2006 6:35:07 AM PST
by
reagan_fanatic
(Darwinism is a belief in the meaninglessness of existence - R. Kirk)
To: GOPJ
I can see why you have to tell people you're a conservative. With some of your comments, you seem more like a dem... How did you divine that conclusion from a comment about a former speech writer making petty comments about someone elses speech writing?
40
posted on
02/02/2006 6:35:31 AM PST
by
IamConservative
(Who does not trust a man of principle? A man who has none.)
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