Peggy Noonan: The President Within

Opinion Journal ^ | 11/16/2001 | Peggy Noonan

[Pokey78]

He walked into history an obscure, flat footed, bantamy little fellow in a light gray suit, the inhabitant of an eloquence-free zone who gave boring speeches in a flat voice. He was not compelling. This was more obvious because he followed a charismatic leader who did big things and filled the screen. He was quickly defined and dismissed by the opinion elite as "a first-rate second-rate man." And maybe at the beginning he feared the appraisal was correct, for when he became president he said very frankly that he felt the moon and the stars had fallen upon him.

[Pokey78]

Ping for the PNPL!

[Pokey78]

D'OH! Forgot the pic!

[JohnHuang2]

Thanks, Pokey - God bless Peggy Noonan! =^)

[onyx]

Thank you, Pokey78! Another Noonan essay, another trip for tissues to dry my eyes!

She can write and she can zing: ----- Mr. Clinton, whose eight years in the presidency could be compressed like an accordion into one inch of meaning, was no FDR.

[onyx]

Written by Peggy Noonan, and it's NOT a girl thing! Translation: please read the entire essay!

[isthisnickcool]

Peggy is wordiliceous!

[The Truth Will Make You Free]

BTTT

[Republic]

Pokey-WOW! Grrrrrrrrrrrrreat words from a fabulous lady!

To the rest of you smitten fans-You will LOVE this article, I guarantee it, that is, if you can pull yourself away from Rintense's thread long enough to read this gem! LOL

[freesia2]

Now that was a pleasure to read.

[Republic]

Dont' MISS this great article! What terrific words, and what an impact they make!

[Prince Caspian]

...asked by a student if he had any advice for her life he said, "Yeah, listen to your mother." This got a lot of laughter but then, to show respect for a child who asked an honest question, he turned serious, and what he said was moving. "Follow your dreams. . . . You never know where life's gonna take ya. I never sat and thought, 'Gosh, if I work hard I'll be president of the United States.' It wasn't in my vocabulary. But you never know. You never know. Trust the Lord."

What a terrific response from a man who has obviously grappled with finding the true significance of life.

[Wait4Truth]

I love this woman! She is the most thoughtful journalist alive. However, the more I read about George W. Bush, even from her, the more I feel like an outsider. The first time I became aware of him, in June of 1999, I thought: This is a great man and he would make a great president. Even Peggy was not convinced - I, on the other hand, had no doubts whatsoever. Either I am crazy or I have wonderful insight...

[Republic]

Peggy has our President nailed down and wrapped!

[Benoit Baldwin]

To: Peggy Noonan: The Devil Within

>He stopped or thwarted communism wherever he could, fought
>like a tiger, faced down the most admired American general 
>of the day and canned him for overstepping his bounds, 
>made the crucial and horrific decision to drop the atom 
>bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and took the responsibility
>himself to the extent that when the head of the Manhattan 
>Project came to him and said he feared he had blood on his 
>hands, Truman took out his handkerchief and wiped J. 
>Robert Oppenheimer's hands, and said no, I made the 
>decision, the responsibility is mine. 
>
>Harry Truman was a great man. 

No man personally responsible for the death of a single human being was, is, or ever shall be, a great man.

[Wait4Truth]

Thanks for the ping, Republic! I love Peggy and I love everything she writes. I always thought George W. Bush would make a great president - and my thoughts have been shown to be correct. I'd like to know which of President Bush's aides made the comment about him being a great man. Whoever it was, I agree.

[Republic]

FYI-pretty neat stuff, hey?

[Snow Bunny]

This is so good. I just love her writings. Thank you so much for pinging me to this, that other one the other day was fantastic too. Just sooooooooooo GOOD !

[ladyinred]

This is the most eloquent of women.I want to be her when I grow up. That I agree with her helps too.

[ChemistCat]

I didn't know the handkerchief story about Truman. That started tears leaking and they haven't stopped yet. I haven't done anything like build a bomb that killed hundreds of thousands (and may yet kill millions) but I know the power of that kind of absolution. I know what it is to have a burden of wrongdoing lifted up off of my shoulders and carried away from me by Someone stronger. I can imagine how Oppenheimer felt, oh yeah.

I know that W is still held in contempt by the liberals. (They) still say the same things about him they've said all along. But I don't think he could win the likes of them over if he could raise the dead and walk on water (after all, Jesus is also held in contempt by the same people.) W has won ME over. I don't trust his bureaucracy much better than I did, and I hate it that the Constitution is still not the template in use for how the line is drawn between federal and state/local powers, but I trust W. himself on a very fundamental level. And do you know what? He is ON TIME when he goes places. There is an essential courtesy in the man that only arises in a person with a deep understanding of what other people need. He's not going to sell us out, and he'll do what he can to stop others from selling us out.

Besides, it's pretty clear to me that this woman has extraordinary good sense, and I'll string along with her: There aren't too many women in public life that I'd be proud to call a friend; she's one, and Peggy Noonan is another....