Peggy Noonan: Way Too Much God

Wall Street Journal ^ | January 21, 2005 | Peggy Noonan

[RWR8189]

Was the president's speech a case of "mission inebriation"?

It was an interesting Inauguration Day. Washington had warmed up, the swift storm of the previous day had passed, the sky was overcast but the air wasn't painful in a wind-chill way, and the capital was full of men in cowboy hats and women in long furs. In fact, the night of the inaugural balls became known this year as The Night of the Long Furs.

Laura Bush's beauty has grown more obvious; she was chic in shades of white, and smiled warmly. The Bush daughters looked exactly as they are, beautiful and young. A well-behaved city was on its best behavior, everyone from cops to doormen to journalists eager to help visitors in any way.

For me there was some unexpected merriness. In my hotel the night before the inauguration, all the guests were evacuated at 1:45 in the morning. There were fire alarms and flashing lights on each floor, and a public address system instructed us to take the stairs, not the elevators. Hundreds of people wound up outside in the slush, eventually gathering inside the lobby, waiting to find out what next.

The staff--kindly, clucking--tried to figure out if the fire existed and, if so, where it was. Hundreds of inaugural revelers wound up observing each other. Over there on the couch was Warren Buffet in bright blue pajamas and a white hotel robe. James Baker was in trench coat and throat scarf. I remembered my keys and eyeglasses but walked out without my shoes. After a while the "all clear" came,

[Tempest]

Maybe Peggy has had too much to drink from one of the many parties going on in D.C.

[LibertarianInExile]

I feel the same way about her stuff. Too much of the vision thing. Everyone yaps about "shining city on a hill." I think she's probably madder she didn't write it than she is right, but this speech wasn't a barnburner.

Bush is an honest man, not a great speaker, no matter how much people suck up to him here.

[Howlin]

I hated the part where W equated the cult of Islam with the Judeo-Christian traditions that have made this country what it is today.

Where EXACTLY did he do that?

[John Lenin]

I barely remember listening to Hawkwind, if ya know what I mean ? lol

[Red Sea Swimmer]

Music is an amazing thing. It can be very powerful indeed in moving people. Certain forms of music suit certain settings. It is all about mindset and setting. Too many people get too involved in criticizing the artist for whatever political views they may hold and the quality of music they perform. By not separating the music form the messenger people miss out on enjoying many forms of music. Music is subjective, but some musical pieces are classics that transcend time and space. A good DJ is the philosopher of a party.

Birds are twittering outside my office window right now. They sound like they are having a convention or something. Pesky critters... :)

[AnnaZ]

I find Peggy to be a bloody hypocrite.

Because, upon reflection, her opinion of Bush's speech is different than yours? If she's wrong (and I'd like her to be -- I'm rather grateful to Bush for giving the Right a beyond-one-term goal) that'll be bad enough, but conservatives receive a lot from Noonan. Cut her a little slack.

[Echo Talon]

She influences millions. And despite what the cynics here say, Peggy "gets it". Go to her archive section and read her stuff. So she didn't like the lack of nuance in Bush's speech. Big deal. You want to toss her off the island b.c of it?

I have never really cared for her, I don't know... She obviously doesn't "get it" although I do, she is green with envy, reminds of Babs Boxer interrogating Condi Rice the other day...

[exhaustedmomma]

Got that right. Noonan is getting trashed for speaking her mind... nevermind her track record. So begins the conservative splintering...

[Red Sea Swimmer]

They were a bit before my time, but I'm sure it would have been a lot of fun to see them live. The first electronic band I heard was Kraftwerk.

"She's a model and she's looking good." in a mechanical Dusseldorf accent.

[churchillbuff]

Guess who else was panning the speech: David Frum. Now, class, what do those two have in common?"""

They're both 1) former speechwriters who didn't get to write this speech, and are envious and jealous; 2) arrogant individuals; and 3) neocons. IN other words - - three strikes.

[Irish Queen]

Nope, I suspect you enjoy the music you sang as a school kid. I was a rather old fashion music teacher, and I made a point of teaching the children songs such as "America, the Beautiful, "Columbia, The Gem of The Ocean", "Faith of Our Fathers" and "God Bless America" These songs and many others are an important part of our American heritage. Sadly, many school children nowadays are not being taught these wonderful patriotic songs.

[Howlin]

So begins the conservative splintering...

OMG, that is just SO rich, coming from you!

[Howlin]

I've asked you before not to post to me.

[John Lenin]

Hawkwind was more progressive than Kraftwerk. Much better in my opinion.

[jennyjenny]

That's interesting that you all are talking about the music. I like all music and it is a big part of my everyday life. I didn't even notice the music today. "Hail to the Chief" was all I needed to hear to get me all teary eyed. (Although I did enjoy the National Anthem very much also).

[Red Sea Swimmer]

You've piqued my interest now. I'll have to track down an old Hawkwind album somewhere.

[Red Sea Swimmer]

Music, like perfume, is a very powerful memory retrieval agent.

[Howlin]

For the record, what in the heck did President Bush mean when he said . . . "Liberty for all does not mean independence from one another." I find that very disturbing as it implies more globalism and wealth transfer and less liberty.

Geez, talk about going off the deep end.

[Red Sea Swimmer]

8675309...8675309...

[John Lenin]

You should like them if you are a techno fan.