Peggy Noonan eviscerates Sarah Palin

[JackBeck]

Peggy Noonan was probably Reagan's most famous speechwriter. She's also the woman who was caught on tape a while back bashing McCain's choice of Sarah Palin on MSNBC after she thought the mic was off. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122419210832542317.html">She unloads on Palin in the Wall Street Journal. As Joe has noted before, lead Republicans know the race is over. That's why they're going public, weighing in, trying to mark the territory with their best explanation for what went wrong. It isn't a good sign at all for McCain. And even worse for Palin. At some point, the talk is going to begin, if it hasn't already, as to whether the choice of Sarah Palin was the beginning of the end of John McCain's quest for the presidency. Bring her back in 2012, and the party may split in two. God, this is fun. It's been a long time since we could say that. Here's Noonan:

She doesn't think aloud. She just . . . says things.

Her supporters accuse her critics of snobbery: Maybe she's not a big "egghead" but she has brilliant instincts and inner toughness. But what instincts? "I'm Joe Six-Pack"? She does not speak seriously but attempts to excite sensation—"palling around with terrorists." If the Ayers case is a serious issue, treat it seriously. She is not as thoughtful or persuasive as Joe the Plumber, who in an extended cable interview Thursday made a better case for the Republican ticket than the Republican ticket has made. In the past two weeks she has spent her time throwing out tinny lines to crowds she doesn't, really, understand. This is not a leader, this is a follower, and she follows what she imagines is the base, which is in fact a vast and broken-hearted thing whose pain she cannot, actually, imagine. She could reinspire and reinspirit; she chooses merely to excite. She doesn't seem to understand the implications of her own thoughts.

No news conferences? Interviews now only with friendly journalists? You can't be president or vice president and govern in that style, as a sequestered figure. This has been Mr. Bush's style the past few years, and see where it got us. You must address America in its entirety, not as a sliver or a series of slivers but as a full and whole entity, a great nation trying to hold together. When you don't, when you play only to your little piece, you contribute to its fracturing.

In the end the Palin candidacy is a symptom and expression of a new vulgarization in American politics. It's no good, not for conservatism and not for the country. And yes, it is a mark against John McCain, against his judgment and idealism.

I gather this week from conservative publications that those whose thoughts lead them to criticism in this area are to be shunned, and accused of the lowest motives. In one now-famous case, Christopher Buckley was shooed from the great magazine his father invented. In all this, the conservative intelligentsia are doing what they have done for five years. They bitterly attacked those who came to stand against the Bush administration. This was destructive. If they had stood for conservative principle and the full expression of views, instead of attempting to silence those who opposed mere party, their movement, and the party, would be in a better, and healthier, position.

At any rate, come and get me, copper.

http://www.americablog.com/2008/10/peggy-noonan-eviscerates-sarah-palin.html

[MassLiberal]

1. wow

[Cha]

11. wow indeed! I don't care who she is..she's

kicking ass and taking names.

But, coming from another republican this makes it even more Biting and describes palin in no uncertain terms.

[JackBeck]

30. The rats are the first to flee a sinking ship.

Over the next three weeks many will follow.

[Mz Pip]

2. Even Noonan

sees Palin for the fraud she is. And in publicly saying so she is inviting the rath of the RWers. Chirstopher Buckley paved the way for her. He jumped in. The water was fine. Time for Peggy to follow.

[Cha]

14. "Come and get me

coppers" :bounce:

[mth44sc]

3. Not to worry

tomorrow Peggy (for no damn good reason) will find herself on TV whispering sweet nothings about this ticket of McSame and Palin.

[SheilaT]

4. I am somewhat underwhelmed.

Ms. Noonan thinks that McCain won the last debate by making it clear that Obama would raise taxes. What kind of alternate universe does she live in? McCain wants to do all sorts of new things, like fund research into autism and still cut taxes.

What's going to happen when Obama takes office is that he'll learn, as did Bill Clinton in 1993, that the deficit is a whole lot worse than the Republicans had admitted to, and, just as 16 years ago, it's going to take a lot of belt tightening and raising of taxes to even hope to fix things.

People like Noonan are idiots who only see the world through their ideological blinders and do not understand the full consequences of what their ideology brings about.

This editorial is too little, too late.

[JackBeck]

45. Given that the last 8 years Republicans marched in lockstep

It's somewhat comforting to see that the tide is turning, and for whatever reason, conservative Republicans feel free to actually speak their mind once again.

[madmax]

5. Peggy!????

Wow. k&r

[Lex]

6. Remember when Noonan got caught on an open mic trashing her

during the Repub Convention? That was awesome too!

Here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/03/peggy-noonan-mike-murphy_n_123647.html

:hi:

[Critters2]

35. Yeah. This is nothing new. She hasn't liked Palin from day one.

Still, it's fun to watch the Repug infighting.

[Left Is Write]

7. Gee. That's a pretty big change from the night of the VP debate

when Noonan was the "Famous Person" who claimed that it was Palin's night, that she was a "star."

[faithfulcitizen]

8. whoa

[Zomby Woof]

9. Noonan is stupid and full of shit

"In the past two weeks she has spent her time throwing out tinny lines to crowds she doesn't, really, understand."

Shit, I can say the same thing about Reagan. He was just better at delivering the tinny lines and empty rhetoric.

[Hansel]

16. Exactly. And when Lee Atwater started down this road

of politics of destruction for her old boss, she didn't know this is where it would lead? Grow up Peggy. You are as much too blame for the likes of Palin as anyone else.

[political_Dem]

21. That's true as well.

She is to blame for the crap we are seeing today. But she does give Palin the riot act.

[Hansel]

25. Yep, can't deny that is fun just the same.

;-)

[sad sally]

52. then there's her "thousand points of light" BS...

[susanna]

10. OK, Noonan is just scaring me now.

Noonan is a GOP apologist, just like the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. When she starts doing the stuff she has been doing lately, my entire worldview gets shifted on its axis. That said, I agree with her on her points re: Caribou Barbie.

Interestingly, I was polled by Quinnapiac (sp?) last week. One of the questions: "Do you think Sarah Palin is qualified to be the Vice President of the United States? Please answer Yes, No or Undecided." I asked the pollster, in all seriousness - "is there a 'Hell No' option?" He demurred, and I relented, poor guy. "Then I would have to say that my answer is No." :-)

[jsmirman]

18. Ha ha ha - "then I would have to say my answer is No."

I love messing with pollsters and anyone calling on my phone who I don't know.

If you aren't calling for a cause I *really* support, you're in for a bumpy flight.

[susanna]

24. Oh, me too! I wasn't sure what the poll was about at first and was cautious.

I say that because I have NEVER been polled for a presidential race - ever - so I thought this was something else. Weirdest thing? They asked to speak to the person who was 1) of voting age and 2) whose birthday was next on the calendar?! Not sure what that did for them, but who knows...

Honestly, I think I may have been a bit abrupt with the pollster until I figured out it was a "for real" presidential poll. Then my answers became pretty clear. I think he knew where I was going before I got there. The Palin question, though? It was the only one I tried to re-word to my own liking, and I sensed his unease with that tactic. ;-)

[jsmirman]

32. I could not physically stop myself from laughing if anyone asked me that question

although "fuck no!" would have been my answer...

[BumRushDaShow]

12. Sadly, she had to first trash Obama in the first half before she got around to Mooselini.

But oh well...

[always_saturday]

13. Oh boo hoo. Another rat leaving the sinking ship.

[dgibby]

15. "can't govern as a sequestered figure"

:wtf: is she talking about? Cheney's been holed up in an undisclosed location for eight fucking years! Jeez!

[political_Dem]

17. Can I say Wow again?

I don't like Peggy Noonan in any stretch of the imagination, but she notes the schism that is happening in the GOP and that it has greatly affected American politics. That is a very important and relevant aspect of what is happening during this election season.

I believe that Palin will go down as a black mark in the history of the GOP and America. Palin is horrible for us as a nation. You can definitely call her the "Helen of Troy" in conservative politics, because her "captivity" launched a war of vast proportions.

[foo_bar]

19. Reagan's Right Nut Endorses Obama

I think she's obliquely referring to Kathleen Parker's avalanche of Sarah Plain hate mail (including the pro-life desire that Parker be retroactively aborted, according to Parker on Colbert), but it gets easier for every neoconservative who jumps ship. Even Lieberman's self-loathing might not extend to participation in Nuremberg-style rallies, although he seems okay with the idea so far. My tinfoil region almost wonders if he hasn't converted to Pentecostalism when I read some of his recent sermon; I guess he can technically remain Jewish while calling Sarah Palin an instrument of God's will, since there's no ecclesiastical authority to excommunicate him, but I'm almost expecting a Barbara Wawa interview where he tearfully confesses he was touched by a special angel.

[AAARRRGGGHHH]

20. Great post

I might possibly get destroyed for this, but I agree with her completely. Though I consider myself a dyed-to-the-wool progressive, I do believe that true conservatism is a reasonable disagreement. If I were conservative, I'd probably say the same thing.

It's amazing how ridiculously bastardized the right-wing has come. They've become completely beholden to a remarkably flawed ideology based around a compromise between fascism and religious fanatacism. All this to the detrament to our country.

No gays, all guns, all babies, no taxes. What is remarkable is how simple the philosophy has become as it buckles under the weight of it's own contradictions.

[chill_wind]

22. "...a new vulgarization in American politics."

Can't disagree with that.

[Cosmocat]

41. I can disagree ...

cause, like any other right wing hack, this pukebag generalizes what the REPUBLICANS have done into being a problem of the whole.

SHE is part of the group that has grown this vulgerization.

[Scriptor Ignotus]

23. if McCain were leading in the polls

all these Conservatives would be just fine with whatever he did. Remember that. Palin would be fine. The negative ads would be fine. The constant lies and distortions would be fine.

This has nothing to do with ideology or ethics or the good of the country. For them it only has to do with winning.

[Jennicut]

26. Lots of conservatives are recognizing that Palin is bad for the conservative movement

She is so vapid that no one outside the nutball crew take her seriously. No one wants to talk about the cons belief in lower taxes, everyone just wants to watch the crazy show that is Sarah six pack Palin. Noonan is not an idiot and knows the Rethugs are doomed with this pick by John McInsane as Palin will want to keep her new found "power". They created a monster and no one in the Rethug community wants her.

[Zynx]

27. That was devastating.

[susanwy]

28. Did I miss Hell freezing over?

burrrr

[bumblebee1]

37. No

Hell is now setting up to play its first ever hockey game.

[TxBlue]

29. WOW redeux! methinks she is po'd about Buckley's son

I believe couldn't that either...had to read a couple of times about him leaving NR. It's wtf?

Is this the beginning of a new party if all but the extreme dingbats of repugs is left?

[VolcanoJen]

31. I just read the whole thing, and basically threw up in my mouth

You guys aren't actually taking Peggy Noonan's goofy, poorly-written tripe seriously, right? At times, Peggy can write, but this isn't one of those times. It reads as vacant and disconnected.

Maybe it's just me. I'm a little bored with counting the little "conservative" duckies all neatly in a row, sensing defeat and trying as best they can to pretend they were always on board.

Spare me, Peggy.

[Liberal_in_LA]

33. "George W. Bush when he darts out like the bird in a cuckoo clock to tell us we are in crisis"

wow.

[Waiting For Everyman]

36. She stole that from Chris Matthews. :)

[DainBramaged]

38. Tweety is her hero

[smalll]

34. LOL - Peggy remembers some brief shining moment about 20 years ago when SHE was

America's Republican sweetheart. You're surprised she hates Palin?

[fujiyama]

39. Noonan fascinates me

She's a talented writer, and as much as she made me cringe with her praise of Bush in past years, she is eloquent and has a certain way with words. Some may argue it's pretentious, but in a way it's refreshing from the surprisingly crude and as Noonan would put it, "vulger" conservatism of other RW hacks.

And it's also obvious that Noonan's not freaking dumb as a box of rocks. She recognizes Palin for the shallow, dimwitted, fool she actually is. Palin, especially over the last several weeks, has proven to be able to pander to the lowest common denominator - the worst crowds possible. She insinuated terrorist connections to Obama and refused to condemn clear death threats against him. Even McCain, as pathetic as he is, corrected the crazy woman from MN - and got booed for it. I sense he regrets, first and foremost, the VP choice he made, and he may never admit it due to his stubborn personality, but I think he'll go to his grave regretting it.

[terrya]

40. That's remarkable. I've never seen anything like it.

I've never seen such high profile desertions from the ticket of what presumably would be the ticket's hard core supporters...Kathleen Parker, Christopher Buckley...and now Peggy Noonan...during the election.

Hell, Kathleen Parker all but said on "The Colbert Report" that she wasn't voting for McCain.

[renie408]

42. Go, Peggy Noonan...wait, I just threw up in my mouth a little bit....n/t

[GalleryGod]

43. GAME.OVER.

Peggy...stomping her stiletto on the Pageant Queen's throat!:nopity: :wow: :nopity:

[mitchum]

44. Wow,,,dolphins CAN fly!

[camera obscura]

46. Wonkette' response to peggy:

Perhaps Peggy thinks she can steer the weak-minded mouth breathers with this shiny bit of Reagan Glimmer, this phantom Gipper bullshit. She, like her New York martini-sipping liberal christ-fucker Christopher Buckley, naively believes the “Republican Base” dillweeds actually read the columns. Ha! They use two swollen, cheetos-stained fingers to get the Internets on the Home Page, which is Free Republic or Lucianne.com or whatever they heard about on the AM. And then, their lips move slowly as they try to comprehend the day’s jihad, complete as always with the direct link to that empty comment box, and then they excitedly CTRL-V whatever ALL-CAPS bullshit from their AOL forwarded lunacy of the moment, and maybe get fancy with some misspelled freestyle of the “EXAKUTE HIMS” variety, with the John 3:16 verse (in pink Comics Sans) in the sig. Bekky helped set that up on the ‘puter before she was beaten to death in the break room at BIG LOTS!, by her husband, who had just got back from his fourth tour in Iraq, missing his right eye and three ounces of brain.

Anyway, there’s no hiding from Them, Ms. Noonan, not online. But there is joy in intellectual honesty or whatever, right? And it’s not like you’re going to run into these people at Bloomie’s …. So tell us, what do you really think of Sarah Palin?

:rofl:

[JackBeck]

47. Awesome.

Now that's the way to cut down someone. If you haven't found him already, you might enjoy http://rudepundit.blogspot.com/">The Rude Pundit.

And welcome to DU!

:hi:

[Honeycombe8]

48. I respect her more, now. See, when people dare to criticize their own, that makes others....

that makes others, like me, listen to what they have to say in the future.

Kudos to Ms. Noonan. She is brave. I'm sure she knows the hailstormers are going to come after her now. But she has one thing they don't: regular access to a microphone and newsprint.

[frickaline]

49. I think she is just trying to appeal to a wide audience and sell her new book

But I also think Palin's "use" of the English language offends her. I agree with Peggy's assessment here but I do wonder if Peggy really does. Perhaps she has learned something from the past 8 years that she didn't previously know or believe.

[Laelth]

50. At any rate, come and get me, copper.

They will. She can be sure of that.

Fascism brooks no dissent.

-Laelth

[Paladin]

51. Nice Write-Up, Noonan. But Screw You Anyway.

Screw you for the vapid, untalented, right-wing suck-up that you've always been......