[hinckley buzzard]

But I would like to propose a different date as to when it began: June 9, 2004.

Noonan never got over the loss that came with the end of her excellent adventure with the Reagan adminstration. It was Noonan's own personal version of Camelot. She idolized Reagan and I believe resented anyone with the temerity to try and take his place. Relevance? Ronald Reagan's death June 5, 2004.

The rest of this stuff about Oatsie et al., coming a scant 4 days after RR's death, is adventitious. Noonan suffers from unresolved grief.

[Defiant]

That's a pretty good theory.

It really is sad. The fact is, she was a helluva speechwriter and had some great columns over the years, especially right after 9-11. Her weirdness started to be noticeable, and then just went over the top, and I stopped reading her entirely a few years ago. Now she's on a path to join Ellen Goodman on the relevancy chart.

[Alex Murphy]

But I would like to propose a different date as to when it began: June 9, 2004.

Noonan never got over the loss that came with the end of her excellent adventure with the Reagan adminstration. It was Noonan's own personal version of Camelot. She idolized Reagan and I believe resented anyone with the temerity to try and take his place. Relevance? Ronald Reagan's death June 5, 2004.

Wow. I think you nailed it.