Posted on 01/29/2003 9:08:19 PM PST by Pokey78
Edited on 04/23/2004 12:05:09 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
Spot-on Peggy bump!
Short sweet and to the point.
That's why I remember Juan's comments so clearly...they focused on the part of the speech that I wasn't even thinking of at the moment. Not that I disagree with his comments, mind you, but it just wasn't where my attention was at the moment. I'm certain that he said that he was "moved."
I hope you realize we are witnesses to history. I believe that in 100 years, schoolchildren will be as familiar with passages from these speeches, just as children today can recite from the great speeches of Lincoln, (and much as I hate to admit it)FDR and JFK.
Amen.
Each of us who worships God, by whatever name, might well reflect on whether our understanding of His Word includes an understanding that He, not the state, is the ultimate source of liberty.
Yep. Like a rinse and a peppermint after a nasty session of chain-vomiting. And particularly a "gift" since the previous eight years were entirely our collective fault, a reflection of the self-inflicted collapse of American spirituality, morality, and character.
Dan
Peggy has redeemed herself with this one.
The thoughts were pithily, and sometimes memorably, expressed. They didn't seem artificially sprinkled in. They arose from the text, were woven into it, and organic to it. And so they didn't seem showy and insubstantial, they seemed like real thoughts that had a particular weight. This is oratory of the post-soundbite era, and it's a step forward.
Very well stated.
I also was watching FNC and agree with your comment about Williams' reaction to the SOTU speech. However, don't you remember what preceded his comments? He said something akin to, "I don't think many Americans see President Bush as a very compassionate person and I think after this speech tonight they're going to see him in a new light." I thought this was a typical shot coming from Williams.
"The course of this nation does not depend on the decisions of others."
And this is my #2:
"The liberty we prize is not America's gift to the world; it is God's gift to humanity."
:)
So, the impression he made on Juan Williams was no doubt repeated in many, many homes, which is a good thing.
This comes through, always. Another great article by Noonan.
A steady hand on the helm in high seas, a knowledge of where we must go and why, a resolve to achieve safe harbor. More and more this presidency is feeling like a gift.
Like you, I was struck by Williams' response. It was surprising, but it seemed genuine. The program to help children of prisoners seemed to have been the one that "sealed the deal" with him.
My thoughts at the time were a.) why would such a penny ante initiative, of such questionable real value, evoke such a positive response? and b.) of course, conservatives are compassionate, you ninny, what took you so long?
But, then, when you're trying to sell somebody something, sometimes you're surprised at what it is that actually closes the deal. It isn't always the hemi-head V-8, sometimes its the roller bearings on the ash trays.
The incident was an example, I believe, of how President Bush is changing many Americans' minds about conservatism. He pays attention to the little things and recognizes what they mean to people. He is selling the ideas of conservatism, making it palatable to people who formerly had no taste (or understanding) for it.
Some will point out that assistance to children of prisoners is hardly a conservative idea. But he's breaking down the reflexive sales resistance to conservative ideas. But if these programs are like ash trays with roller bearings and help sell more of those big, honking conservative hemi-head V-8s, I'm all for it.
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