Peggy Noonan wins the prize for the worst editorial in support of a candidate ever composed.
It’s really bad and you really must read it all. Here’s the money graf:
Mr. Santorum has been at odds with the modernist impulse, or liberalism, or whatever it now and fairly should be called. Most of his own impulses–protect the unprotected, help the helpless, respect the common man–have not been conservative in the way conservative is roughly understood, or portrayed, in the national imagination. If this were the JFK era, his politics would not be called “right wing” but “progressive.” He is, at heart, a Catholic social reformer. Bobby Kennedy would have loved him.
Don’t get upset, this is historically funny.
Little Ricky as RFK?!
She must be smoking some very high-quality drugs.
and getting really good massages.
I think this tops Chris Matthew’s going on about George W’s glimmering nobility.
This is your brain:
This is your brain after snorting coke, downing 3 bottles of Jack Daniels, and smoking crack:
“If this were the JFK era, his politics would not be called “right wing” but “progressive.” He is, at heart, a Catholic social reformer. Bobby Kennedy would have loved him.”
Ms. Peggy has become certifiable. Bobby Kennedy would have upbraided Santorium for even considering a 1% across the board cut in social service programs like Head Start, WIC, Jobs Corps, etc., etc., etc. An image burned in my memory is all those black and white photos of Bobby Kennedy meeting with the poorest families in the most dire conditions – both African-Americans in Mississippi/Lousiana and Causasian families in the Appalachians. My picture of Rick is his kids being homeschooled at the expense of Pennsylvania tax-payers. Noonan’s right to call Santorium a social reformer. She just neglects to say that the reform is towards creation of a caste system where only the most powerful deserve the largese of government.
If Ms Peggy is struggling for compative historical figures, perhaps she should try Bobby’s arch-nemisis Jimmy Hoffa. The teamsters king isn’t exactly apropriate either, but he had a pretty whacked idea of his own social importance. You know – kinda like that guy Rick.
I’m a Catholic and cast my first vote in 1960 for JFK, and all I can say is cheese and crackers, Peggy Noonan has her head up her ass.
First of all, Santorum is being rejected because of his beliefs, not because he speaks them. What else needs be said?
About Noonan: I’m stuck by how strained her language is. It reads like it was translated from the original German. The clauses pile on and the sentences drift off to nowhere. This from a speechwriter?
Her rambling, opening paragraph completely fails to engage the reader or the point.
After reading her editorial, I feel like I have been at war, struggling over her tortured language, fighting through the peculiar and strained links to the Kennedy’s. Her attempt at portraying a pompous, blustering bully as a sanctimonious, holy man, speaking the truth though it cost his head, is absurdly comic. We see the poor, victimized, lonely traveller, driving with his wife to the ritual slaughter of a debate on national TV. Yea, though he suffereth mightily from the outrageous assaults of his enemies, he does not cry out in anger, or lash out at his tormentors. In his time of trial, this humble servant of the Lord, with only his loyal wife by his side, turn away from his own plight and grieves for the sufferings of his tormentor. And on that dark night of the soul, as the saintly, legally married, heterosexual couple wind through the darkened back roads leading to Babylon on the Potomac, they take up their Rosary and pray for the Caseys. Their cheeks are well and truly turned.
If the ungrateful people of Pennsylvania are so morally corrupt and degraded as to martyr a man so necessary to our country’s future, fear not. Santorum’s legacy will survive. Our country will lose a moral leader, and we will be the worst for that loss. But Pennsylvania will have provided another Saint for the Holy Church of Rome. Amen.
(Now what’s the url for the WSJ op-ed submissions?)
Her rambling, opening paragraph completely fails to engage the reader or the point.
Oh, it engaged me! I reread it twice, then called my husband over to take a look. My husband has particular contempt for run-on sentences and could not continue. He said he wasn’t sure how to clean vomit out of a computer keyboard and begged off.
Nooner is one of the most painfully overwrought writers in the entire stable of neo-con lunatics; second only to Richard Perle. (Perle is my favorite. He makes polysyllabic malapropisms fun.)
I do find it very telling, though, that Santorum is running an ad about how well he works with Hillary Clinton and Nooner is conflating him with RFK. I’m waiting for the ad that says, “I’m not a conservative. I just play one in Congress.”
Why can’t people in politics write clearly and simply? When I see things like Noonan’s piece, I wonder if they where so strained to find something good to say that their style function when crazy.
Why can’t people in politics write clearly and simply?
Because it would be too hard to distort and obfuscate.
I have a lot less trouble with conservatives who come out on say what they mean than with those who lie. I trusted Goldwater, even if I didn’t like his most of his positions, because he said what he meant. This critique goes for Dems as well. I couldn’t stand Kerry because he won’t or can’t say what he really believes. Gore had that trouble until he stopped running for office. (BTW, I just read somewhere that he came out of the closet.) Hillary is one of those vote-calculating politicians as well, which why I’m not thrilled about her hammer lock on the 2008 nomination.
Howard Dean is what I like, honest and plain spoken. He’s why I stay with the Dems.
I love your writing Teach.
As soon as I started reading “we see the poor, victimized…” I looked down to see if it was indeed you.
It would be nice for you to get the”url”.
I`ll be looking for more of your rants. [“rants” is very good]
Thanks, Knucklehead. One of things I like about BT is that I never would have seen the Noonan piece without Booman having written about it. BT also provides a place to share responses and ideas with interesting people that I would likely never meet otherwise – like knucklehead’s from Malibu not named Gibson.
You`re welcome, but I should point out my wife`s last name is Gibson, though definitely not from that clan of which, I believe, you speak.
OOPS!
Btw; I`ve been contacted by the tabloids about getting info on the other gibsons, after my interaction with them about the Nolte arrest which happened a mile from here & which I was a witness to. haha.
“knuckleheads not named Gibson” great line. I`ll show it to my wife.
Why didn’t you sell some made up dirt about Mel? The tabloids’ll make up stuff anyway, you might as well make some money off it. That’s what celebrities are for, to make money.
Nolte and Mel. Man, I hope you keep a video camera fully charged and ready to go 24/7. I can see it now, your elegant retirement fully funded by the video you took of Mel, Nick, and Arnold scoring Meth and engaging in lewd and lascivious activities with rent boys while attending a retreat at Mel’s father’s lunatic fringe Catholic Church.
As you can see, Knucklehead, I have to keep him away from my “holy” brother in your neighborhood.
The urge to visit your brother seldom rises to uncontrollable levels.
Who? Is somebody bothering your brother? What`s his name? What does he look like. Where does he live. ? Whoever it is I`ll have him taken care of.
Say the word.
Down boy, she means me and I’m harmless. But we will let you know the next time he gets caught up in university politics.
I was kidding , but do know there`s always back-up when you need it.
Understood and appreciated. If he gets roughed up as the token progressive where he works, you’re on our emergency call list
Ya cool. & I`m not that far from Pepperdine also.
The request for info on Gibson, came about when they paid me for the truth about Nolte, & found out my wife`s name was Gibson. I won`t make anything up about someone, but if I know the truth, I will not lie about it.
As for the cameras, I almost always have one or the other. I had forgotten my office keys at work when I drove home for lunch & saw the Nolte action just starting. As a witness I was given a whole lot less than had I had my cameras with me. First on the scene & everything. Who I`d really like to deal with is Gary “Abuser” Bussey. A schmuck of the highest order. I`ve had many run-ins with the fool. A true egomaniacal coward.
Where oh where is my packed away rosary….I’m almost tempted to dig it out and recite the rosary on behalf of Peggy’s poor dead brain.
This has to be high camp, right…kinda like the movie ‘Showgirls'(?)..to be read over and over when you need a good laugh.
Her brain is dead, but she is still alive. Sen. Dr. Frist has assured me of this from his examination of her head shot in the WSJ.