Peggy Noonan: The Paragraph- Help the White House make the case for re-election

Opinion Journal ^ | 02/12/04 | Peggy Noonan

[Pokey78]

When you are a conservative and tend to support conservatives, it will come as a surprise, and an unwelcome one, when you ding one, as I dinged President Bush the other day about his "Meet the Press" performance. Of those who responded, about 60% disagreed with me, and the rest were more or less in agreement. Many of those who disagreed with me said they thought the president had done well with Tim Russert, that the interview made clear his decency and sincerity. Others said I was kicking the president when he's down and that's the problem with conservative pundits, they can't be trusted. My answer is the obvious one: It is the job of a writer to write the truth as he sees it, and if it's an uncomfortable truth, then so be it.

[A Citizen Reporter]

Holy Smokes! Your post prompted me to check my own sign on date, and I just realized....2/12/99....It's my 5 year anniversary!

Can't believe it's been this long!

[nopardons]

Hi, old FRiend !

Yes, you're correct and I'll attest to your remarkable memory.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

Happy Anniversary, ACR. : )

[Sabertooth]

I've noticed too, but I wasn't sure what they were until I watched the second in the LOTR. But seriously, you think they signed up in the age of yore and pull a Gramschi, subversion from within??

Now we're getting somehwere.

I heard that some trolls are super small, and have the ability to subvert your very keyboard from within.

You must remain vigilant, and never sleep, or they might make you appear to be a basher.

[nopardons]

Oh good! Now " DUNE " I like and have read and watched the movie ( yes, I liked it.) and the mini series. :-)

[Porterville]

Sometimes, when I'm feeling like a sleuth, I check their past post and see how often they use the FR. Sometimes, they haven't used the board in years and suddenly they appear again...

[cat lover too]

Just to satisfy your vanity, Peggy, the NYT thanks you!

Some Noted Conservatives Bash Bush
nytimes.com ^ | 02/10/04 15:39 ET | JIM RUTENBERG

Posted on 02/11/2004 8:48:16 PM EST by Destro

Some Noted Conservatives Bash Bush

By JIM RUTENBERG

For example, Peggy Noonan, the Reagan speechwriter, had this to say on Sunday in opinionjournal.com about Mr. Bush's "Meet the Press" interview: "The president seemed tired, unsure and often bumbling. His answers were repetitive, and when he tried to clarify them he tended to make them worse."

[My2Cents]

They were so insistent that I realized: They're nervous out there, the Bush people. If they weren't so nervous, they wouldn't have cared about bad reviews.

No, Peggy. They were so insistent, and they cared about the bad reviews, because you were WRONG!

[bootless]

Oh baloney. Look a little more closely into Oklahoma City and the Irtaqi connection.

Jose Padilla. American citizen - tied to dirty bombs.

The AQ cells in Buffalo.

Just because YOU haven't seen them doesn't mean they're not there. Unlike BJ Clinton, this President is not prosecuting this war through the media. Unlike BJ Clinton, this President is aware of the necessity to protect sources and keep the secrets just that - secret.

[nopardons]

Now I KNOW you're a TROLL!

You may not have " seen " any terrorists, but they KILLED people I knew and who my daughter knew and who many of my friends knew and were related tpo on 9/11/01! Tell me again, that we don't have to worry about terrorists and how the president is keeping OBL alive, so that he can throw my tax money away, by fighting them all. Go ahead.

[SAR1]

Think about it. You lose 60- 70% of your retirement because of greenspan and co creating a stock market bubble. Then you get out with at least some pocket change again. Now they say oh you should have stayed invested for the long haul. Bullspit. What do you think the people over at the enron window think and how do they feel? What about world com and all the rest. There is resentment and it will surface

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

I'm so glad she used the word "bumbling". That was very helpful. (Sometimes I really wish Peggy would keep her wistful, descriptive thoughts to herself.)

[nopardons]

HAPPY FR ANNIVERSARY !

[Fledermaus]

You liked Dune but not LOTR? Dune was just as long and pretentious at times.

[nopardons]

That's the dead giveaway! :-)

[jmstein7]

CNN Caught In Blatant Act of Pro-Kerry Bias -- Hold Them Responsible HERE

[NordP]

My new tag line, thanks to some collaboration with MamaLucci, might help...

NordP

[SAR1]

What the heck is the FBI and the CIA for. Where are they and what are they doing. Stop the terrorists but dont create more gov spending and bueacracy over it.

[JasonC]

Something like this -

I was changed by 9-11. I suppose we all were, that everybody felt it. This was on my watch. Since that day, I have been on a mission. I said in New York not long after, that the people that did this would hear from all of us soon. I think they can hear us now. Indeed, they can hear the free people of Afghanistan and of Iraq repudiating their doctrines of hatred, choosing justice and peace.

There was real unity on all this then. When a year later it was time to decide about Iraq, my opponent saw the need for that unity. And I thank him for it.

Now, maybe you think this is all over by now. Maybe you think we did the wrong thing, or went too far, or that it doesn't matter. I didn't ask for this, and I wish it weren't this way, but I don't think it is over yet. I think we have more work to do. When our enemies come after us like that, I think we should unite, go straight to the source, and deal with it to its roots. I think nothing should sway us from this, that we should be implacable, until the job is done.

But maybe I am too close. Our system wisely leaves these big decisions not with the men who must carry out the task, but with all of you. You know what I stand for. The decision is yours. If you give me the time, I will finish the job.

My offering on Noonan's stated task...

Key points - he is talking to his bosses, the American people. He is applying for a job. He explains what he will do and why, in terms nobody can miss, about the one overriding issue. And he asks for the "sale" at the "close".

[A Citizen Reporter]

I'm gonna party like it's 1999!