ON PEGGY NOONAN ON 4 PRESIDENTS AND A FUNERAL

Free Republic, Opinion Journal | 2.10.06 | Mia T

[Siena Dreaming]

take on Peggy, who is one of the finest and most astute political writiters in the country

Ugh...Noonan has a terrible writing style. I have never been a fan and I see that more people now are getting fed up with her airy-fairy style.

As far as her being astute. A person who bashes President Bush for using the word "God" in a speech is extremely far from "astute" IMO.

[gusopol3]

since Nazi comparisons are such an everyday thing now, weren't Adolph and Eva lovely together?

[Mia T]

Thanx for taking the time to comment.

Re the Esquire photo:

1-Analogizing to the Coulter shot has its limitations. Just because there were physical similarities, i.e., a weird angle that distorted body proportions, that doesn't mean the motivation of the photographer was the same.

In the case of Coulter, the motivation was likely relatively trivial: Someone was trying to make her look gangly and unattractive. It's hard to take a bad pic of Coulter, so they resorted to distortion to manufacture one.

2-OTOH the clinton photo, is, I believe, attempting to tell something about the person. You have to ask why a photographer would shoot a photo of a president in spread-eagle position, with the phallic area the camera focal point, with all dynamics (tie, legs) directed toward that focal point, with an arrowlike tie pointing to that focal point, with huge hands and arms like parentheses around that focal point. This was not random. Nor, I believe, was it trivial.

[Mia T]

Actually, I think the Esquire photo more closely resembles in political motivation the Reuters SOTU shot of hillary.

[Mia T]

Another point: The angle of the shot not only make his hands huge, it makes him small.

[Californiajones]

Mia, I do admire your verve and insight as well. But the digitized pix don't mean anything, they take away from your arguments. You don't need them. You need to be clear and concise as AJ said. A little Strunk and White and a little less ornamentation would be make your observations more poignant.

As for Peggy Noonan, her deconstructions are usually spot on in their sentiment, - -what is engaging about her columns is that she does take an idea and work it through slowly and logically, albeit sentimentally at times.

I do have to say that in the aftermath of 9/11 and the 2000 election fiasco, Noonan's instinctual patriotism and deep love of the American ideal would at times make me cry. She is a great writer -- I always consider her columns just first drafts. She is at least thinking strategically, and we need more of that -- and guess what? Noonan is thinking strategically for the cause of conservative Americanism without being on the White House payroll; and without a big paying politico job on talk radio or something. ( Her WEST WING stint was just a early season stunt for Sorkin and the Left.) OJ has printed a few of my responses to her columns and they left out the last sentence of the last one -- I'd work for Noonan anytime.

[caveat emptor]

1-Analogizing to the Coulter shot ....

I may occasionally neologize but would never admit to analogizing.

2-OTOH the clinton photo, is, I believe, attempting to tell something about the person.

Good point. But the hands have to go some where. It certainly would have been less effective to have him grabbing his crotch or stuffing them down his pants. And clasping them behind his neck would have seemed a bit rednecky, not exactly the effect they were looking for.

[malia]

This is the best yet - but then I say that everytime.

I had a whole list of comments to send you then I came to posts 63 & 64!

The perfect couple!!!

[mtntop3]

Peggy Noonan, a good woman, has gradually and unfortunately become a narcissist of her own observations and words. She has come to like the sound of herself too much. May she soon rediscover the original Peggy N.

[mtntop3]

Peggy Noonan, a good woman, has gradually and unfortunately become a narcissist of her own observations and words. She has come to like the sound of herself too much. May she soon rediscover the original Peggy N.

[YaYa123]

"clinton's mummy-redux moment "

I had the same flashback! Let's face it, Clinton is sleaze personified, he can get away with inappropriate references because like the neighborhood idiot savant, he can't help himself. He opens his mouth and trashy references pop out.

Pollyanna Peggy. I guess she can't help it either. I mean, no way was Republican, New York Noonan going to criticize the 6 hour southern black spectacle of Mrs. King's funeral. Peggy couldn't write what I bet she really thought, that Mrs. King's funeral reminded her of the maid's Hollywood funeral in the movie, Imitation Of Life.

Mrs. King's funeral was garish grief run amok, with little to do on the passing of an elegant preacher's wife who lived a lifetime trying to preserve her husband's legacy. This made for tv funeral screamed " SHOWTIME!"

[YaYa123]

"clinton's mummy-redux moment "

I had the same flashback! Let's face it, Clinton is sleaze personified, he can get away with inappropriate references because like the neighborhood idiot savant, he can't help himself. He opens his mouth and trashy references pop out.

Pollyanna Peggy. I guess she can't help it either. I mean, no way was Republican, New York Noonan going to criticize the 6 hour southern black spectacle of Mrs. King's funeral. Peggy couldn't write what I bet she really thought, that Mrs. King's funeral reminded her of the maid's Hollywood funeral in the movie, Imitation Of Life.

Mrs. King's funeral was garish grief run amok, with little to do on the passing of an elegant preacher's wife who lived a lifetime trying to preserve her husband's legacy. This made for tv funeral screamed " SHOWTIME!"

[WaterDragon]

</i>She did write some INCREDIBLE speeches though!</i>

She helped. Today, Noonan seems bitter that she isn't some sort of top-dog in the White House. And wraps that bitterness in slyness. She completely turns me off.

[E.G.C.]

Mia T. Bump.

[Mia T]

;)

The hands are too dominating to have been a default position. But I think you have to look at the Gestalt here. This is a very bizarre presidential portrait... unless you plug in the fact of the president's serial predation of women.

This picture was taken at the end of his presidency. Perhaps, this was the photographer's comment on that, as well.

As historian Douglas Brinkley said of the clinton presidency when refuting clinton's Hofstra-apologia lie that he, Brinkley thought clinton would have been a great president but for impeachment--(Brinkley actually RUSHED to HNN to set the record straight): [It] will be "hard to get people queuing up a hundred years from now excited to see the "NAFTA Pen Under Glass."

But perhaps Brinkley is missing what apparently did not elude the Esquire photographer: clinton will be saved from oblivion by the magnitude and consequences of his evil.

 

THE FAILED, DYSFUNCTIONAL CLINTON PRESIDENCY
(DECONSTRUCTING CLINTON'S HOFSTRA SPEECH)part1: clinton's "Brinkley" Lie


AFTERWORD: ON CLINTON SMALLNESS--BRINKLEY MISSES THE POINT

[Mia T]

Thanks for the comments, suggestions.
Sounds like they are coming from a professional.

Strunk and White, indeed. It may not show, but I've actually opened my ragged, old copy a couple of times recently. ;)

'Spot on sentiment.' Yes. I suppose I see Noonan as more artist than thinker.

As for the images: my rationale for using them

[johnny7]

Her writing leaves a cloyingly sweet aftertaste. (Her speaking, too.) Worse, it is too often metaphor in search of a thought.

All the times I've seen her speaking as a talking head... she 'acts' as if some archivist is recording her every utterance. Her eyes seem to search-the-ceiling for just the right word. It's almost as if she thinks she's doing theater.

In short, the problem with Peggy is that she's too full of... Peggy.

[Mia T]

thx :)

[Mia T]

Not to be catty, but I think she once inadvertently disclosed her reason for looking up: a tauter jawline. Really.

[johnny7]

“THE STYLE: Creating 3-D models with lip-syncing and animation is not like picking up a brush or pen.” -MY RATIONALE

I've done some myself for children's educational CD's... and you are spot-on with your assessment. It's fun to run a loop and see when you've 'nailed-it'... by the smile on the person who did the audio.