I have recently pulled off the shelf my battered copy of Peggy Noonan's What I Saw At The Revolution: A Political Life in the Reagan Era. I first read this book in 1991 or '92 and have been a fan of Noonan's writing ever since. In this uncertain and divisive political age which has lots of Republicans and Democrats alike wishing for Reagan, I thought I might revisit Ms. Noonan.
Noonan has had a couple of great columns lately in the Wall Street Journal; the one this week addresses the Palin pick. As a writer, I love and appreciate her style. It is literate, conversational, and on point. She is not critical or bombastic. She is fair and honest. Of the Palin pick, Noonan says, "The choice of Sarah Palin IS a Hail Mary pass, the pass the guy who thinks he has a good arm makes to the receiver he hopes is gifted. Most Hail Mary passes don't work.But when they do they're a thing of beauty and a joy forever." I agree with this statement. She goes on to say that the Palin choice, if it works, will be brilliant, but if it doesn't it will be one of history's accidents.
At any rate, regardless of what side of the political fence you sit on, Noonan is a nice writer and I like the sensibleness of what she says. And I'm going to re-read her Reagan book because I miss him!
17 comments:
I literally just read her latest before I checked your blog...she hits it out of the park every time.
Oh goodness. Take a look at this..
from yahoo news Noonon
After a segment with NBC's Chuck Todd ended today, Republican consultant Mike Murphy and Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan were caught on a live mic ridiculing the choice of Sarah Palin.
"It's over," said Noonan, and then responded to a question of whether Palin is the most qualified Republican woman McCain could have chosen.
"The most qualified? No. I think they went for this — excuse me — political bullsh** about narratives," she said. "Every time Republicans do that ... because that's not where they live and it's not what they're good at and they blow it."
Murphy chimed in:
"The greatness of McCain is no cynicism, and this is cynical."
open mouth, insert foot? what timing!
luculent
web-justice.blogspot.com
Ah Peggy, tsk tsk!
This sounds like Noonan summed it up nicely. This Hail Mary pass is an act of desperation. Throw all judgment out the window and chunk the ball in the air. Let all the Republicans close their eyes, cross their fingers and cheer. You should open your eyes, put your country first and not your party and look at whats better for the country and not the few. The American future is too important to play these games.
"put your country first and not your party and look at whats better for the country and not the few. The American future is too important to play these games."
I agree with that totally. And I think the ONE thing John McCain can say is that he NEVER put the Republican party first; hell he's half democrat. In my opinion, he IS putting country first by picking a strong, accomplished running mate who has executive experience.
Here's the video with the audio feed and Noonan saying, "It's over." Yikes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrG8w4bb3kg
i miss ronald reagan!!!!
PLEASE explain to me how Palin is strong and accomplished. I'm not saying she's not; I'm just saying I've heard little of her actual accomplishments because the media is so stuck on her daughter's debacle. So someone, please, tell me why this woman is ready to be the next president, should she have to step into that role. And I don't want to hear she was mayor and governor. I want to know specifics, please. Thanks!
All I can say is why I personally think she's a viable VP contender.
Mom and I were talking about Palin today and Mom (you know how she is) was all, "I don't understand WHY she wanted to have that baby! I don't think it's fair to the baby!" (Please, no hater comments folks, you would just have to know my mother. She's OLD). I guess if you think like this, having this baby shows a love and a strength. Is that a VP credential? No, not really, but it goes to character.
Palin has been a governor for 2 years and a mayor for 6. As she explained last night, the Gov. position, at least, has huge responsibilities. Oversight of budget considerations (of a state with a huge energy resource); veto power over said budget as well as other such weighty responsibilities that governors have. That IS executive experience.
Granted as the National Guard thing goes, she doesn't have to dress in fatigues and lead the troops into battle; it's primarily symbolic but that is still important.
She stood up to old cronies and in LA. I'm familiar with that and resigned in protest from position of Ethics Commissioner of Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission in order to expose legal violations and conflicts of interest of Alaska Republican leaders, including the former state Attorney General and the State GOP Chairman (who was also an Oil & Gas Commissioner), who was doing work for the party on public time and supplying a lobbyist with a sensitive e-mail. She's not afraid to stand up to the good-old-boys even if it IS her own party.
She HAS dealt extensively with ethics reform in Alaska. Is her record PERFECT? Probably not, but she's made a lot of progress there.
She has a record of being against earmarks. I know the Yahoo thing addressed this but again, you can't do it all at once. Jindal campaigned on the same thing and he vetoed A LOT of earmark spending from our last budget. But not as much as he could have. Reform does not happen over night. But she started. She's trying. And she does not back down.
Basically, that said, the woman strikes me as tough as nails, poised, accomplished, prepared, intelligent, and a quick study. She can be VP. Is she ready to be President today? No. Can she be one day? Yes. She is not running for President. She is a VP candidate.
No she's not running for president but you HAVE to take into consideration that she could be president one day. It HAS happened before, and I'm sure it will happen again at some point. No, you're not voting for her for president but you do have to factor that into your decision. She very well could be our next president. It's just the truth. I'm not saying you shouldn't vote for McCain if you don't think she's ready, but I'm saying you can't just dismiss the responsibility she very well could assume one day just because it's not a position she's actively campaigning for right now.
I agree with that 100%; and I'm not discounting it. But I'm not ready to say she couldn't do it if it came to that either. I'm waiting to learn more about her and see how she holds up on the campaign trail. Do you know when the VP debates are? I think that will be interesting!
Obama received $8 million in donations in the hours since Sarah Palin's speech and now. Thanks, Sarah!
:P
Not that I want to give my liberal friends any more ammo, but you might enjoy Heather Armstrong's post today. I actually love her blog, even if she is a lib.! :)
http://dooce.com/2008/09/04/and-boom
Also, let's throw the baby thing out the window. It's supposed to be a private matter, right? So let's leave that out of arguments for or against her. It shows she has love and compassion? OK, so do all the other candidates. No one is denying any of these politics are loving people with character.
Also, if we can't hold Palin responsible for comments made by others, then let's apply that theory to Obama's campaign, too (like say, I don't know, his pastor).
Totally agreed on the baby thing but the pastor thing? BHO sat in the church for TWENTY years listening to that hate. That is a choice he made and some responsibility on his part must be taken. Yes, he disavowed those words "but not the man." My facts may be sketchy here but it just seems to be that Obama shunned Wright only when it became politically expedient to do so. I'll have to go research that story about Obama having Wright at one of his speeches to speak but then telling him never mind. I have to roust those details back out. I forget.
wow, Pat. Thank you for sending me to http://dooce.com/2008/09/04/and-boom. I really liked the entry. And, it made me have a whole new respect for ya...knowing you read it, too.
luculent
web-justice.blogspot.com
I LOVE her blog; she's hilarious. She does it full time. Makes money. How nice. Be sure to check out her three pics of the day at the top; she take great photos.
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