Peggy Noonan: Since You Asked . . .

Opinion Journal ^ | 02/03/03 | Peggy Noonan

[chatham]

Sorry but I can't answer your question on Reagan, but there were Millions of non citizens made citizens overnight by the Clinton/Gore Administration with out any screening for criminals.
We have enough criminals with outimporting them.

[ClancyJ]

You may be right about the fact that a second term president is not to be feared and therefore has less capital, but, I sure don't feel Bush avoids controversy.

If he tried to avoid controversy, he would have been in favor of Kyoto, he would have allowed the U.N. to continue to allocate the U.S. dollars, he would not have proposed drilling in Anwar, he would be for abortion, for stem cell research, for PBA and he would have left in place all the environmental binding ties on this nation. Yet, he took unpopular stands on each of these issues.

I'm not speaking of you - but I resent all these complainers that expect this president to counter all attacks on us, mount a war, bring about needed changes in our institutions AND totally wipe out all "in place" government agencies. I feel handling a major reorganization in agencies that defend this nation and in the process insuring that competent, loyal people are in those positions is an extremely major contribution.

To continually lambast him because he does not do away with all government largesse as he handles the major problems he has been handed is naive in my opinion.

[Zack Nguyen]

If he tried to avoid controversy, he would have been in favor of Kyoto, he would have allowed the U.N. to continue to allocate the U.S. dollars, he would not have proposed drilling in Anwar, he would be for abortion, for stem cell research, for PBA and he would have left in place all the environmental binding ties on this nation.

A lot of the things you mentioned above were good decisions but hardly controversial. Had Bush signed on to the Kyoto treaty or kowtowed to the UN he would have lost his base completely. Drilling in ANWR does not upend the political spectrum, and besides he barely lost the vote. Being moderately pro-life is not controversial either, but rather where most Americans find themselves.

I am simply saying that Bush is not a revolutionary and never has been. I happen to think that America needs one, and soon. But again, I think he will be highly effective in fighting the war, and has been thus far. This is his purpose, and we'll have to leave the other stuff to someone else. Overall I approve of the President's job performance. Once the war began the dominant acts of his administration would be tied to that and not domestic issues.