Peggy Noonan: Breaking Up Is Hard to Do

The Wall Street Journal ^ | January 25, 2008 | Peggy Noonan

[Aristotelian]

Declarations: The primary campaign is tearing the Democrats apart. President Bush already did that to the Republicans.

We begin, as one always must now, again, with Bill Clinton. The past week he has traveled South Carolina, leaving discord in his wake. Barack Obama, that "fairytale," is low, sneaky. "He put out a hit job on me." The press is cruelly carrying Mr. Obama's counter-jabs. "You live for it."

(snip)

As for the Republicans, their slow civil war continues. . . . The rage is due to many things. A world is ending, the old world of conservative meaning, and ascendancy. Loss leads to resentment. (See Clinton, Bill.)

(snip)

It will all come down to: Whom do Republicans believe? Mr. Romney in spite of his past and now-disavowed liberal positions? Or Mr. McCain in spite of his forays, the past 10 years, into a kind of establishment mindset that has suggested that The Establishment Knows Best?

Do conservatives take inspiration from Mr. Romney's newness? Or do they take comfort and security from Mr. McCain's rugged ability to endure, and to remind?

It is along those lines the big decision will be made.

[DoughtyOne]

Oops, 80, not 90. Those of us on AOL weren’t there then, unless others were and I din’t know it.

[DoughtyOne]

Do ya think? LOL

[ovrtaxt]

distinctly remember the summer of 01, before 9-11. Bush had gone to Philly and announced all these big government socialist giveaways in front of these preachers. I was so mad couldn’t see straight.

I went out to the driveway and scraped the campaign sticker off my car. I was done with Bush.

Then 911 happened, and everything changed.

[don-o]

No. I did give aol a try for a short bit after my first (local) isp went kaput. But, I was not doing anything besides surfing.

[DoughtyOne]

Thanks Don-O. We had a group over on AOL before Jim developed this site. He and a few other people were over there in the early to mid 90s, and I could have sworn I remembered someone with a handle similar to yours over there.

At various times I’ve been on compuserve, AOL, Interlink, Delphi and probably another or two.

I used to hang out on the Whitewater ISP forum also.

Take care.

[Types_with_Fist]

Yeah, sad isn't it? I always vote my conscience -- the way it's supposed to work. When they winnow down the two main choices this year, there won't be anything that can truly pass for "conservative." The ballot will look something like this for me:

Hillary/Obama Democrat/Republican

McCain/Graham Republican/Democrat

Almost Anybody Else/Almost Anybody Else's Choice for Veep

If that doesn't do it for me, I'm writing in Daffy Duck, because Bugs Bunny leans too much to the left.

[DoughtyOne]

The first three things I remember are these...

1. Bush announcement that he woult not have his justice department look into any Clinton criminality, right after all those pardons.

2. Bush announcement that presidential papers would be sealed for longer, thus covering Clinton’s posterior in a second way.

3. Waiting for Bush to void Clinton’s signed agreement to approve of the United Nation’s International Criminal Court, only to have him avoid it while allies signed on, and then wake up just a few days before it was ratified, with our nation on board.

He acted as if we weren’t, but the U.N. rules were such that all they needed was Clinton’s signed document. That had it. We were an approved signatory nation.

[Thermalseeker]

It's a false choice--I can imagine conservatives, like me, holding our nose and voting for Romney, but can't imagine conservatives voting for McCain for any other reason than "Not Hillary".

I'll second that.....

[Thermalseeker]

In four years, we’ll do it again.

Rush says it best when he says "We pay a higher price for ignorance than any other single thing in our lives"......

[don-o]

You know, there was, and maybe still is a dono on FR. So, when I signed up, I had to add the hyphen; hence don-o.

It may be the non-hyphenated dono you’re remembering.

[ovrtaxt]

ugh don’t remind me.

[bmwcyle]

On Quinn and Rose radio today, Quinn has insider info that Bush will announce his support for Carbon Credits, Europe style in the State of the Union address. NWO Bush is building more than one highway.

[DoughtyOne]

I voted from 1969 on for solid Republicans.

I cannot remember a time when I wasn't really interested in the news.  I was only nine when Kennedy ran and won.  I remember the Nixon Kennedy debate.  I remember wanting Nixon to win.  Funny thing is, I don't remember my grandparents ever mentioning their preference.

I remember the Bay of Pigs somewhat and the Cuban missile crisis very well.  Then of course Kennedy's death...

I wasn't thrilled with Bush the elder either time, but I voted for Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and him twice.  Then it came to 1996 and I wanted the border brought under control.  I helped with the Buchanan campaign a bit.  He won New Hampshire and it fell apart.  One republican party leader called Buchanan the next Hitler.  Bill Bennet asked about this said, "Well, if he isn't he's right up to the line and leaning over it."  Then Bob Dole was asked to refute it and he wouldn't.  Buchanan had been a guest at Doles home a number of times.  If I remember correctly Dole had been a guest at his also.

That was the end of blind support for the party.  That year I did vote for Dole.  The idea that I voted for a guy that would not refute that Pat wasn a Hitler, left me with a disgusting feeling that I haven't shaken 12 years later.  I will never forget that feeling.  It's the only time in my life when I've actually felt like I needed a bath after I had cast a vote.  And that's why I simply will not caste another one ever, that I don't want to with all my heart.

I voted for Pat in the year 2000.  The border was very important to me, because I didn't not want to surrender your nation.  Here we are 12 to 24 million illegal aliens later.  I voted for Bush in 2004.  I suckered for the, 'we can't let those dems do what we can do to ourselves' line one last time.

I've had my fill of RINOs.  I've voted for my last one.

I've never been prouder of voting for someone than when I cast a vote for Ronald Reagan.  That's what voting should be like.  And 1996 was the other end of the spectrum.

It should be a joyous occassion.  It seldom is to the degree it should be.

And lately, it just gets really ugly in the election years before a vote.  Our team simply refuses to think.  Good values don't matter.  If he's a popular guy, no amount of waffling or flip-flopping matters.  Our team gathers behind one guy at some point, and from then on out it's like sperm trying to be the first to penetrate an egg that isn't permiable.

Look at them go.

Whew, not interested.  RINOs are a dime a dozen.  We could have put Ernest in there while he was alive, and he would have done a better job than what some of our team would.

[McBuff]

Don't ever forget one thing: George W. Bush stood strong to defend this country when any other response would have been a disaster and WOULD HAVE CHANGED THIS COUNTRY AS WE HAVE KNOWN IT, FOREVER. and another thing. . .no president in history was assaulted by a more vile, criminal, treasonous, element as has been George W. Bush. I will always defend W and will ALWAYS be grateful to W, MY W. . .because to do so, right now . ..is to defend America and all that it has meant and can be. We owe that to our beloved President. I thank God. . . I thank God, every G*D DAMN Day, that He confused a bunch of biddies down in Florida and gave us George W. Bush to save America. Thank you God, Thank you

Oh, yea. ..and W did a few things wrong. . .but on the other hand. .WE STILL HAVE A COUNTRY! not a bad deal at all!

[DoughtyOne]

Looking back on my life, it wasn’t so much ignorance as not using the tools God did give me.

Rush probably means the same thing.

[DoughtyOne]

You’re probably right. Thanks. That makes sense.

[arasina]

Right on, DoughtyOne! Well stated!

[sauropod]

Unfortunately, we’re left with no choice.

RINOs to the left of me, RINOs to the right...

[sauropod]

Bush has not been a conservative in spending, but he's done quite a bit I'm happy with, and quite a bit the worshipers of Reagan conveniently ignore.

Like Pills for Grandma? Failure to veto McCain-Feingold? Harriet Miers?

Do tell.

[alwaysconservative]

LOLOL! Astute observations on the 2000 elections, as I have come to expect from you. And I whole-heartedly agree about President Bush: I don’t agree with his spending, but this is a President worthy of the name, and I adore him for taking a principled stance on those issues for which he takes the most flak. Thanks for your gentle reminders.