Last night Peggy Noonan said that “she killed,” in reference to how well Palin did in the debate. Why would such an accomplished journalist feed into this dumbing down of expectations of our presidential candidates. She killed? This is not Broadway, this isn’t some advertising campaign for the best product.

What happened to our standards? Fine, if someone hasn’t been in DC shouldn’t be a criterion by which we judge, but substantive answers in the most crucial questions regarding our country’s future should be the requirement, in the very least. Saying that ’she killed’ only feeds into this superficial test that this candidate has been getting and its disappointing coming from one of my favorite journalists.

I hope Peggy addresses Jack Beade’s nonsensical comments about Reagan. I generally find his contributions to be limited.

I must say that I regret framing my criticism of Peggy’s comments in a way that questions her motives. I should have learned that lesson taught last night by Joe Biden. Apologies.

I’m interested in you speaking to this notion:
When our republic was created, legislators somewhat reluctantly put their own affairs on hold and went to the capital to serve their community. While in Washington they used their best judgement to represent their constituency but also to serve and act in the best interest of our country.

This kind of legislator no longer exists. This is now a vocation and a profession. Of prime importance is keeping the job; and that priority drives everything else. Acting in the national interest is never as important as pleasing vocal partisans at home.

to “Jack”
it’s Beatty

The Grace Doctrine.

Appeal to and affirm those things that make them feel transcendent.

Tell them whose ideas are dangerous.

Always WORK in our own interests with pure, clear amoral reasoning.

I agree with Peggy — this should be McCain vs Biden for President contest. I’m not nearly as comfortable with Obama and Palin being President.

Get Peggy Noonan to address the Temperaments of the two Presidential candidates!
I do not believe McCain is temperamentally suited to be President; note his flailing around on the TARP last week! And now claiming credit for nothing! As a naval officer during the Vietnam period, I hate to speak ill of another Navy man, but John McCain has been LYING, boldly and brashly about most things, from alternate energy and climate change to the financial conditions of this country. SHAME ON HIM!

I’m listening to the Peggy Noonan segment and I’m VERY disappointed that Tom is not taking more calls. I’m trying to call in and I’m not getting through, so obviously others must be calling–why are they not getting their moment on air?

There is one base: it’s the human race.

Ms. Noonan is concerned about a terrorist attack but she does not realize that terrorist attacks will be irrelevant if global climate disruption continues unabated.

The older generation is blind to the true dangers of the 21st century. Terrorism is a worry. The collapse of our global ecosystems is the true existential threat.

The golden age of this country, in the late 50’s and early 60’s:
interest rates regulated
banks regulated
markets regulated
90% tax on top income tax bracket
strong anti-trust laws

Conservatives have presided and encouraged the dismantling of the New Deal regulations that created the prosperous middle class we enjoyed back then, and they now want us to bail them out of the mess they’ve created.

Listening to Ms. Noonan, I wonder why you feel it is necessary to give so much air time to this person? In your attempt to be “fair and balanced” you do not accurately report the truth: the McCain/Palin ticket is frightening. Their extremism is cloaked behind this pleasant looking lady who speaks to the lowest common denominator. Just because Palin can speak to a camera, does not mean we should all be so impressed. We need the media to cut through the smoke and mirrors and report the truth.

TARP = Toxic Assets Relief Program, otherwise known as the Wall Street Bailout Bill.

Peggy tells an inspiring story and suggests that in this dangerous age we’ll all have to “help each other down the stairs,” metaphorically speaking. In particular, she’s concerned with the solidarity we’ll have to show in the face of a terrorist attack.

I agree, and it seems that underlying this sentiment is a kind of mutual concern, or compassion. It seems to me if this concern is genuine, the ideal place to begin would be the way our military factors into foreign policy — we spend obscene sums of money spilling the blood overseas: money we could be funneling into domestic infrastructure, spilt blood that inspires the hatred against our country that gives rise to terrorist blowback. If Peggy is sincere, why is she more concerned with lubricating partisan tensions than creating policies that reflect a culture of compassion? And given that Peggy doesn’t want us to continue with nasty, divisive politics, why does she celebrate Sarah Palin’s embarrassingly shallow, evasive performance at the debates rather than articulating an honest assessment? I grant that politically speaking, she did well, but only by reciting vague talking points and avoiding the questions — real patriotism would mean worrying more about the potential danger of this inexperienced woman becoming Vice President than defending her for what I assume are partisan reasons.

Peggy,
With all due respect, you are dead wrong, regardless of the catastrophic vision you’ve had.

The leadership of this nation has suffered under the old criteria for leadership — experience. There is a new measure of the leadership required to lead this nation in the 21st Century — judgment the ability to think, listen, reason, decide and lead within the bounds of truth, honesty and integrity. I believe John McCain sold his soul to George Bush and has lied to this nation. He is not ready or qualified to lead this nation in any capacity. He sold his integrity purely for the opportunity to win this election. No matter how eloquent you are, no matter how passionately you speak, you cannot spin or deny this.

You should have been disturbed by McCain’s lying, because that is what’s tearing at the fabric of our nation. That is the great catastrophe you envisioned — we can no longer count on people like John McCain to tell us to truth, about the war, about the economy, about anything. We can’t get the truth from the media and we can’t even get the truth from you!

Peggy Noonan just gave us the exact response that creates the frustration and anger, the caller asked about the dollaracracy and the establishment of the fascist state in America and she reply with partisan rhetoric - does she recognize her own hypocrisy or is she are her beltway blinders so deeply affixed to her head that she cant see the ongoing destruction of American liberty?

Why the oxymoronic “She Killed” from “Patriotic GRACE” author? Not a huge deal, but she should at least talk the talk. And for someone who is espousing why-can’t-we-all-just-get-along, she takes a defensive stance to any caller who disagrees with her views. (Physician heal thyself, Peggy?) That said, I enjoy many of her columns and look forward to reading her book.

“The golden age of this country, in the late 50’s and early 60’s:
interest rates regulated
banks regulated
markets regulated
90% tax on top income tax bracket
strong anti-trust laws”

Yea, this is old fashion boring Capitalism and I love it.

Let’s go back to it.

McCain is the man to bring it back one step at a time.

All we need to do to get back to the 50s and 60s then is to decimate the rest of the world; another good world war perhaps.

Shouldn’t we be worried about terrorism as well as global warming? Why is it that some think we can only do one? It’s like the argument that we can only persue alternative energy and not drill more. We need to do both.

The Obama/Biden ticket is frightening, no supporters of that ticket should be allowed on this show ever again.

How about the danger of an inexperienced person becoming President. The man is a master of platitudes but in all Obama’s years in the Senate what are his accomplishments? Name a piece of meaningful legislation he authored?

I am appalled at Peggy Noonan’s appearance today. Having heard her in the Midwest while traveling this week, I find her incredibly pompous and self-important. And now she is attacking your listeners who call in! Are you going to tolerate that? Pull her and go to a break. She has demonstrated poor judgement in backing Bush so vociferously , and the caller had every right to call her on her new-found “religion”. This is a low in your programming.

Thank you Mark for your comments late in the show. Republicans didn’t mind kicking dirt in the face of Democrats and the nation when they could, but now that the Democrats are re-emerging after the selfish, moralistic, and dogmatic failures of George Bush and his sycophantic choir of Republican toadies have finally gone belly up and left us with a terrible stink, then Peggy “Peacenik for the Armageddon” Noonan wants a time out. Typical hypocricy of the right.

She killed? This is not Broadway, this isn’t some advertising campaign for the best product.

Why do you say that? Of course it is.

Acting in the national interest is never as important as pleasing vocal partisans at home.

This is a representative democracy. it’s THEIR JOB to represent us; to vote the way we would if we didn’t have jobs and families to take care of back here. Saying they should put the “national interest” above what the voters want is elitist - it suggests that a Congressman knows better than I (or you or Peggy Noonan or Tom Ashbrook) do about what’s in the national interest. If that’s what you think then let’s just have a king.

WRT “vocal partisans” - we all have the opportunity to be vocal. I’ve probably sent 6 emails to my elected officials on the bailout alone. Over the years I’ve had my letters published in dozens of major news publications ranging from the Atlantic to the Wall Street Journal to Businessweek to the New York Times. I donate money and do volunteer work for causes I believe in. Anyone can do these things!

Although we differ vastly in our ideals about government I must say it was a pleasure to listen to Peggy Noonan. I admire her thoughtfulness and intellectual honesty.

Where I would loved to question her was with the idea of patriotism itself. It’s held up in public discourse as such an all-encompassing thing but it strikes me as almost anachronistic in this day and age. We wouldn’t think of standing up and crowing about how wonderful we are as individuals. Why is this deemed acceptable to speak of ourselves collectively in those terms?

I also would disagree with the way we should maintain national security in this Brave New World. Traditional warfare is so barbaric and because we haven’t experience all-out modern warfare on our own soil we are behind our European contemporaries in our perceptions. When will we find the wisdom to see that civilians are the only victims when political interests and ideologies collide?

Thank you for a wonderful show!

I like the last caller on 10-3-08 “On Point” — whose question was interrupted by Mrs. Noonan until the time had run out — have been lathered by Republican Regulars and sharpshooters (e.g., Atwater, Rove, etc) since the Deaver cleaver (her colleague in Reagan Whitehouse) as unpatriotic, un-American and on the fringe because we disagree with the tenets of Republican political manipulation on keystone issues. Alas, because of BUR’s need for a final a.m. pledge break, Mrs. Noonan was allowed to simply demur and shut off her mike to this crucial interrogatory. I’ll continue to contribute to WGBH but BUR’s placement of marketing over substantive content shall find my $$ contribution directed elsewhere.

Tom et al,

There is no reason whatsoever to have flacks like Peggy Noonan on your show. You exhibit more than enough balance on your other shows (See: Hour One, Tony Blankley); you don’t need to do the phony balancing act a la the cable news shows.

But if you are going to have people like her on, please be tougher. You slow-pitched (no, rolled) the question of how Palin could have gone, in the span of a few weeks, from “bullshit narrative” to Biden-killer. Pretty weak, Tom. Put it this way: you Ifill-ed her. (There. Does that sting enough?) I could spend several paragraphs enumerating Noonan’s history of full-throated support for a corrupt administration that she now wants to “move beyond” in a spirit of…[insert stock banality here], but, to use her own word, “bullshit” just about covers them all.

Peggy Noonan is a partisan of the worst kind. Where I could perhaps forgive the rabid partisanship of a GOP advocate whose interest in politics developed in the post-Reagan/Rove era (someone of that vintage would have had almost no positive role models), Noonan has no such excuse. She is someone who has thrown over real conservative principles in the pursuit of power. She is a political remora, cynically attaching herself to the biggest fish. And now that the GOP is rotting from the head, she has decided to adopt a new school of thought.

This show stank.

Jack,

Tip: If you don’t have a website, just leave the field blank.

I saw your name highlighted below your post and was eagerly looking forward to visiting your website and checking out your ideas. Alas, when I moused over the link, all it said was “None”.

I, too appreciated the comment from the last caller (go Hingham!) and was frustrated that we did not get a response other than a “hurt and wounded” Noonan. Give me a break. The conservative Republican pundits have been calling anyone who disagrees with this administration and their tactics “unAmerican” and “unpatriotic” for years. And now that they’re in hot water, it’s all about bipartisanship, reaching out and the middle ground. I find it to be a last-gasp transparent grab for power, and hope others do, too.

And for those who were lulled (and i’ll include myself in this) by oonan’s admittedly warm, controlled and soft-spoken style - let’s not be, or we can put ourselves in the same camp with those who feel that Palin is their buddy because she winks at the camera and talks about soccer. We need to hear the lyrics, no the music.

Also very frustrated about the fundraiser cutting off the show at such a critical point. It looks like BUR’s having a harder time than ever to raise money, but this doesn’t help. News first!

Re: the host’s partianship….
I was disappointed in Tom’s obvious political leanings. The selected clips of the two candidates were so obviouly biased, Peggy HAD to call you on it. Tom spoke to a caller about putting their partianships aside. I would hope a host of his caliber would also. I was very disappointed in his pushback to Peggy. Too transparent.

This is the first show I have heard that motivated me to respond. I am disappointed that you didn’t challenge Ms Noonan more in light of her pompous, self-serving, hypocritical and partisan rhetoric. And in the guise of “unity”. Did you feel that calling her on her obvious hypocrisy would make you look partisan? A low point for On Point.

I’ll continue to contribute to WGBH but BUR’s placement of marketing over substantive content shall find my $$ contribution directed elsewhere.

Posted by I.M. Gobsmacked

Right. Like people who sign their names “I.M. Gobsmacked” contribute money to public radio in the first place.

At least I use my real name and website.

Also very frustrated about the fundraiser cutting off the show at such a critical point. It looks like BUR’s having a harder time than ever to raise money, but this doesn’t help. News first!

Agreed.

It’s especially annoying to me because I’m a contributor! I’ve already GIVEN ‘BUR my money so why do I have listen to more whining demands?

I listen on the web and I think WBUR should give members a password so we can listen to the whole show uninterrupted by pledge drives.

Luckily I can listen to MOST NPR programming online from other NPR affiliates around the country when ‘BUR and ‘GBH have pledge drive. And one of these days I’m not going to bother to tune back in when the drive is over.

Ms. Noonan’s search for political grace is evident in Barack Obama. From the onset of his campaign, he has been inclusive and engaged in what he perceives are the needs and concerns of us all. He calls upon us to be involved and engaged in all levels of our lives; to consider our own place and responsibility as citizens. Senator Obama sees what unites us as a people and speaks to our better selves.

I read an article about Senator Obama in the Sept. 14th New York Times Sunday Magazine in which his former law students were encouraged to examine their own biases as they studied their cases. The profound depth and insight into his own character ( his own self-awareness) was brought forward to teach others to know themselves better and, thus, learn to bring compassion, humanity and pragmatism into their practice.

I believe in the sound and steady leadership abilities that Barack Obama consistently demonstrates.

I didn’t get to listen to the whole program, but on the economic crisis at least, Peggy Noonan simply made no sense. She blames Congress (code for Democrats?) for not “overseeing” more, but says that there has been too much regulation! What’s the point of overseeing if not to regulate? Should they just watch and wag their fingers at the banks when they disapprove of their reckless actions? It was clear how partisan (and clueless) she was before I found out the identity of the guest. Someone might want to notify her that her talking points could use some work…

Thank you, Marian, I could not have said it better. It’s so easy to criticize and say what you don’t like, but what a pleasure to hear a clear expression of what matters to and inspires another person/voter in a way that is utterly positive.

I share Ms Noonan’s unease with 21st century developments in public life, but not all her diagnoses. I am most concerned about the serious devaluation of truth in public discourse. It is very depressing that public figures feel that they can mislead so blatantly, and not be punished for it by their constituencies. So I’m distressed when Sen Clinton fabricates her experience in the Balkans or Gov Palin continues to misrepresent her history re “the bridge to no nowhere” long after it was apparent that “thanks, but no thanks” wasn’t correct. This sort of behavior reveals a very cynical view of the gullibility of the public, and just insults our intelligence. It seriously devalues the basic currency of debate, and seriously deters from bipartisan approaches to our problems.

Of course, there have always been misrepresentations in politics, but I do believe that the Cheney/Rumsfeld/Bush administration’s disdain for truthiness has been orders of magnitude greater than historical norms. It started with the deception inherent in the phrase “death tax,” and plummeted downhill thereafter. The Iraq invasion rationale dishonesty is most often cited, but there are countless other examples extending even to the attempts to censor or doctor scientific findings to conform to political ideology. This President apparently never learned the lesson of the boy who cried wolf, and his impotence in the face of the current credit crisis is, I believe, as much a result of his complete loss of public credibility as it is of his administration’s incompetence or his lame duck status.

I do think that the devaluation of truth and honesty in today’s discourse is a serious problem, and I wonder how much the popular culture has aided and abetted the dishonesty. When we think that it is OK to produce so-called docudramas, in which the character and behavior of real people, past or present, can be distorted or fabricated to satisfy “entertainment values,” don’t we just encourage the types of behaviors we have seen from Cheney/Bush/Rumsfeld?

Every time I want to give a Republican commentator the benefit of the doubt I hear things like “Sarah Palin killed it” in last night’s debate.

Anyone watching the debate with an unbiased view saw a junior executive reading her lines in a tightly scripted debate. I didn’t walk away feeling confident that she is ready to handle the tough decisions that face the next administration, and that she is capable of thinking critically, and thinking on her feet. Why is mediocrity the standard for those that will hold the highest office in the country?

The Republicans lack a critical trait, and that is the ability to be self-critical. Peggy Noonan had it right the first time, Sarah Palin is/was a poor choice.

Gene Raphaelian
Santa Barbara, CA

This President apparently never learned the lesson of the boy who cried wolf, and his impotence in the face of the current credit crisis is, I believe, as much a result of his complete loss of public credibility as it is of his administration’s incompetence or his lame duck status.

That’s apparently a lesson Bush doesn’t need to learn.

Moments ago the House passed the Bailout bill. According to the Boy Who Cried Wolf story the townspeople (Congress) should have ignored Bush’s warning about what would happen if it didn’t hand $700B over to Paulson to buy magic beans or whatever he wants to do with it, because the boy’s earlier warning about Iraq and WMD’s was false.

But as long as Bush keeps crying “wolf” and the villagers drop everything to go charging over the hill to fight wolves, why should the boy learn anything?

Do you really have any doubt that, next week, if Bush declares that Russia is building a new generation of ICBM’s, and he trots out all his CIA and DoD experts to testify before Congress with pictures and data, and so we need to spend a $trillion to build a new anti-missile system, that he wouldn’t be able to sell the idea?

I tuned into the middle of the Noonen program. Not knowing who was speaking, my jaw dropped when I heard her speak. Does HE HAVE Sarah Palin on the show??? Only until her name was mentioned did I think differently. The same “twang”, inflection, down home talk. Is she now, and hAs she been, working with Sarah???

Thankfully, P.N. was relegated the diminutive 2nd hr. of the last day of the fndrsr.

BTW, Gwen. Gwen. Gwen. Why Gwen?

How convent and sinister for Peggy Noonan to now tell us of her fear of a cloud of terrorist nuclear threat to this country and how the American public won’t be able to cope with it in the long run.
Buck up Peggy!
I’ve been afraid for this country since Ronald Reagan was elected. We have been lied to humiliated, robbed and had to watch while the Bush administration ignored our laws and did it their way. You’ve just spent too much time with and supporting this arrogant bunch of incompent bullies. Thanks to the administration you supported, this country has much to fear here and now as well as what may be in the clouds for us. I’m disappointed that Tom Ashbrook allowed you and so many others to say anything on the air without questioning their motivation. I don’t think Jack Beatty would let you or anyone else get away with that. It’s time for the media to stop cowering and ask good questions and to demand appropriate answers. When Sarah Palin tells Gwen Ifill she is not going to answer the question, she is going to give the answer she wants to give, she is telling me and every American citizen she doesn’t care what we want to know, she’s going to tell us what she wants us to hear. Honestly answering questions should be a prerequisite for anyone running for office in this country, also for people who want to sell books and give their opinions on member supported radio.

I think we should question your motivation. Somebody should start asking Jack Beatty tough questions. I’ve listened to Tom let him drone on with his arrogance and incompetent opinions for too long.

Please, all good politicians are skilled at avoiding questions or finding a way to get their stump speech into the answer even if it’s not relevant.

“Patriotic Grace”. Hmmm? Maybe Noonan should try practicing patriotic grace before telling the rest of us how critical it is for the country to practice patriotic grace.

In fact, the best source of this type of grace in this country, is none other than, ta da, Barack Obama!

The good news is that Noonan, in telling us what to do, is consistent with Republican principles, the # 1 principle being, “Do as I say, not as I do”.

“Somebody should start asking Jack Beatty tough questions.”

Jack Beatty works for On Point. Why not poke around the site and find out a bit more before making spouting off so much?

I like Beatty very much and tune in on Friday partly to hear him. This is not FOX news. If you want that, tune to it.

Good for you Richard. Here’s what On Point’s website says about him:
Jack Beatty joined The Atlantic Monthly as a senior editor in September of 1983, having previously worked as a book reviewer at Newsweek and as the literary editor of The New Republic. In addition to editing many of The Atlantic’s major nonfiction pieces, Beatty is in charge of the book-review section, and he has contributed numerous articles to the magazine himself. Recent subjects have spanned the globe: NATO, the United States Navy, and the Irish Troubles among them.

I’m sorry if suggesting that somebody question Beatty upset you so much. Nobody on the left should have to face tough questions.

I think he’s a tool and prefer it when Tom has somebody on that balances Beatty’s bias.

I think he’s a tool and prefer it when Tom has somebody on that balances Beatty’s bias.

I don’t understand why there’s any need for OP to offer “balance”. The whole concept of “balance” is based on the fiction that there are two sides to every issue. Real issues are complex and probably have at least a half-dozen legitimate POV’s. As someone else keeps reminding us here, the whole Obama/McCain model ignores the Naders, the Ron Pauls, and the others out there.

The “point” of On Point is to have a stimulating discussion, not to try to exhaustively tease out every viewpoint of a problem. That’s too much for a one-hour show so that is OUR job as informed citizens! I read the Wall Street Journal, The Economist, The NY Times, and I often dip into the Atlantic, National Review, Mother Jones and other pointedly-opinionated magazines to get my “balance”.

I heard enough Peggy Noonan during the Reagan years to last a lifetime.

There is so much to critisize in what Ms. Noonan says. How ironic to call for people to pull together now that the neo-conservatives have bled the middle class for so many year. She calls on the American people to remember their glorious history. My understanding is that public education in the US has been so starved for funding that many people have no understanding of their history, geography or most other subjects. Typically, for people of her political persuasion, she is fear mongering about threats from the rest of the world. It is the neoconservative policies that have created so many enemies and alienated allies throughout the world.
There is a better way. Thank heaven I was born in Canada. I pray that Obama wins.

Peggy Noonan’s talk with Tom, was, in my opinion, genuine. But the groups to which she needs to address this message are the neoconservatives, Christian right, etc.
Her talk, though, suggests something much deeper, a question I wish someone would put to our presidential candidates: how would you have handled the aftermath of September 11? To my mind, that was a moment, perhaps the moment, that if responded to appropriately might have altered the direction of world opinion and terrorist acts. Instead, both candidates accept verbatim the necessity of the “war on terror,” a term coined, if I’m not mistaken, by the Bush administration. It may be necessary now, but was it in 2001?

Peggy Noonan, voice for “patriotism.” Not a partisan, just a “conservative.” This was edifying.

Factually, she wrote speeches for Ronald Reagan, who should have been jailed for supporting the “Contras,” a terrorist group that murdered civilians in Nicaragua. He financed this terrorism by selling weapons to our supposed enemies in, hmm, Iran. He also invaded Granada for no good reason, a criminal act.

She also wrote speeches for George H.W. Bush, who invaded Panama and, hmm, Iraq, of all places. The Iraq incursion was the more curious, since Iraq was our ally up to that point, and Saddam Hussain was led to believe that he had U.S. tacit approval, if not backing. In other words, he was double-crossed.

Tonight, Peggy Noonan sounded like a fake Beat poet, with the practiced intonation of a Village Vanguard wanna-be, pretending to be disheartened by the current political landscape.

Still, she couldn’t help proclaiming that Sarah Palin “killed” in last night’s debate. How did she “kill?” Not by offering anything substantive, but by offering projection of personality, ala, hmm, Ronald Reagan, criminal.

The “Reagan Revolution” is over, rendered to the dustbin of history, never to be revived. “Conservatism” is also headed for the same dustbin. It was always a scam, not a serious philosophy. It is fitting that Peggy Noonan would mention her supposed dismay at Bush’s 2005 inauguration speech as being “utopian, aggressive, and nutty.”

Pardon me, but are “Republican” partisans so deluded that they actually believe that anything Bush says is real, truthful, and meant to be taken at face value? Does Peggy Noonan actually believe that Bush and his gang ever had any intention of spreading “democracy” and “freedom?”

I don’t think so. Bush is an omnicriminal, obviously so to any sane, intelligent observer. I don’t believe Peggy Noonan’s dismay is any more real than Bush’s supposed utopian dreams. More likely is a desire to reclaim whatever reputation she thinks she had before the farce that has been playing out for the past eight years.

It’s a bit late for that. The punditocracy that enabled the destruction of our system of social order over the past 28 years is disgraced for good, and deservedly so. The dustbin of history is filling up.

Tom, it was a great show, and a surprising and profound one. I look forward to reading Noonan’s book.

Peggy Noonan is a national embarassment. She is part of the right-wing cabal that has manipulated the media to win at all costs. Why is she polluting the radio waves on your show too? She’s a light weight. The caller had it right, Noonan is getting religion on the way out. That was perfect. I can’t believe you couldn’t find someone who0 has something to say to interview.

Re: Peggy Noonan

Give me a breadk! Why has Peggy Noonan even gained any credibility? She wrote Reagan’s famous speech line: Read My Lips, No New Taxes. It turned out to be total bs. So why is she considered a maven? How does she have the nerve, with her silky, come-one I’m so reasonable voice to protray herself as objective? I’ve never understood why anyone would listen to her. And, besides, no one seen as an authority should ever try to convince others–they should convince others to use their own judgment and not go along with “authority.”

Listening to Peggy Noonan talk about overcoming our differences for a greater national cause is like listening to David Duke (or Al Sharpton) talk about racial unity.

Jack regarding my motivation, please check out the BBC they know how to question a politician.
The Brits don’t settle like we do

I really appreciated the caller near the end of the program who essentially said, “oh, now that the Republicans have worn out their welcome…now they want to play nice!” Most interesting, Ms. Noonan seemed to take this quite personally and was agitated and defensive. She should be. Anybody who is supposed to be a thoughtful analyst and concluded that Gov. Palin “killed” in the debate is a partisan, pure and simple.

I just heard the Noonan segment. I was very disappointed. Noonan was incredibly artificial, condescending, and self-important. Her “vision” is like that of every Republican I have heard: fear-mongering drivel.

Peggy Noonan tries hard to impress that she is now a gracious non-partisan
Call me cynical, but I find this newly found realization that George Bush is a serious failure to be extremely disingenuous. I have no doubt that if it were possible for Bush/Cheney to run for a third term, Noonan (and “Maverick” McCain et al) would once again be among their most loyal apologists.
If she was truly concerned about the general welfare of this country instead of political allegiance she would have been sounding this alarm in 2004 - when it could have saved us from much of what she now calls the ” trauma” of the Bush Administration.
Partisan I may be, but I think it is finally time for these nitwits to shut up, go home, get out of the way and - at last! - turn things over to the grown-ups. Its time for a REAL change. We’ve had enough!

Fear, fear, fear! Were the events of 9/11 a terrible tragedy? Yes. Does that mean that forever more our national identity must be defined by persistent and pervasive fear? This is the tune that Peggy Noonan’s party has played and won elections to for the better part of a decade. It’s been the distraction that has lowered our national standards and bankrupted us ethically, economically and intellectually. It’s time to stop listening to fear-mongerers like this and reclaim the bold, brave and optimistic qualities of our “better angels.”

This program was a joke.
Peggy Noonan is a hypocrite. In one statement she says Palin ‘killed’ in relation to the debate. Then goes on about not being partisan in the next statement.
Does she think we are all stupid?

Peggy Noonan is nothing more than a party hack with an overblown sense of self worth.

She manipulated the conversation to get her parties message across.

She scolded Tom for playing an the uninspiring speech McCain gave at his parties convention.
I watched the whole speech it was nasty and McCain came across as condescending.
Every key note speech in that convention was nasty and used demeaning statements and anger to attack the Democrats and Obama.

Tom should have told her when she chided him for playing that segment that this is what happened at her parties convention. She was there and she heard it.

The republicans always cry foul and act like they are the victims of the ‘liberal media’. Enough of this nonsense. Peggy Noonan is not to be trusted, has she listened to any right wing radio lately?

How about the Bill O’Reilly show segment with Barney Frank recently. Bill O’Reilly’s treatment of the Congressman was so disrespectful. Barney Frank gave it back though, but this was a sad day for democracy and the media.

She wrote Reagan’s famous speech line: Read My Lips, No New Taxes.

That was not Reagan it was Bush I.

Apart from Pearl Harbor, this country has managed to survive for 200 years without being invaded and attacked internally. 9/11 was a fore-shadowing of the worst presidency our nation has ever seen. From 9/11 to invasion of a sovereign nation, to Katrina, to the Justice System, to the economy..etc. the Bush administration has not only failed but has come close to destroying America altogether.

What to prevent another 9/11, don’t elect a Republican.

Peggy Noonan’s cry for bi-partisanship is the same old republican stragedy start a hate movement, ride it out until it becomes old enough for Democrats to fight against, then declare war against said stragedy. Bush showed the perfect example when he called for “bi-partisanship” after his party lost in 2006.

They same thing is occuring with the economy as Republicans run fast and far from their “non-regulation” and “trickle-down economics”. They have made a “killing” and now that this house of cards is falling in on them, they are trying to deflect blame. Yesterday Democrats were socialists pigs, today “we are all Americans”.

Peggy Noonan is a disgrace, who sold out her fellow americans for policitical gain. SHE is NOT a Patriot, I hope her next interviewer breaks through her talking points and hands her the truth.

what a hypocrit Noonan is: In the fall of Midterms of 2002 when King George was USING and exploting 9-11 for political gain, i saw Ms. New-nan on Joe Scarsborough’s show talking about how great it was that King George was “taking his popularity to the people” when in fact what he was doing was rushing the vote to go to war in Iraq and then going after the senators and congressmen who voted against the war and using their vote against them ie Daschle, Max Cleland (SMEARED THEM AS COWARDS AND TRAITORS) so he could broaden his majority in the house and senate. Peggy was GIDDY over this stratagy and LIED about all GW was doing was taking his love to the people…….BS Peggy and you know it….King George USED 9-11 for political gain and look where we are now

say what ever you like Peggy….but this democrat is “not ready to make nice”

there’s blood on your hands and everyone who supported and voted for King George i want to watch you and your party suffer

I expect to be seeing Patriotic Grace over at my local Dollar Tree, right next to John Ashcroft’s book and the other diatribes collecting dust there. Peggy Noonan cashed in on being Reagan’s speechwriter and for the past 25+ years has acted like those speeches mean she speaks the truth. I saw right through them then. Like a see through her BS now. Reagan’s failed trickle-down, supply-side mantra, and its many chickens have come to roost with the present economic crisis.

Noonan may continue to spout her falsities and all she just does not get. But they will soon become more and more irrelevant with the changing of this absolutely egregious Republican era of the past nearly 40 years.

I thought Noonan “killed.” She has such a refreshing perspective. Thanks for not having the usual flacks on, but broadening all of our horizons. Please have her back again soon.

Noonan is so attractive and charming I confess I never noticed how totally irrational she is.

Palin “dominated by persona”?

Back in 2004 Noonan and her party was claiming that a vote for Kerry was a vote for terrorism.

Now, when her party is about to suffer a terrible defeat, she thinks we should all calm down and be civil.

No accountability, no consequences.

Noonan is pleasant to listen to. She is serene and intelligent. She’s also somewhat shallow.

Patriotic grace? What could that mean, really?

How is Noonan’s message different from the “Fear! fear! fear!” message of Bush?

Noonan wants us to fear an enemy we cannot identify. She wants us to governed by a love of country. Fear, love. It’s fascism with a human face lift. No thanks.

I hear the caller who says he can’t take the offer of civility and peace from the people who have been attacking us for the past decade. I’ll pass.

Jack –

Isn’t the whole argument (to use the term loosely) that Noonan is making based on the notion that our political discourse should not attempt to “kill” or expose our opponents as speaking “nonsense”? (She does say that solutions must come to both sides. Solutions to what I still can’t figure out.)

Isn’t she just on the team that’s behind and wants to call a time-out as the clock winds down?

Sorry. I’m not in a forgiving mood, and for those of you who are, remember this:

“I’m the Decider.”

How can anyone in your country take this woman seriously, peddling vacuousness as insight?

it made my gums hurt.

I heard the program on Friday and was disappointed to hear Ms. Noonan call for drawing together, then proceed to suggest the CRA signed into law by President Carter somehow was responsible for subprime loans and generally irresponsible lending and borrowing practices.

Will no one stand up and be accountable for their acts? Ms. Noonan’s allegation is akin to the suggestion that the CRA forced them to make sub-prime loans. I know some people like to use the “the devil made me do it” excuse, but I expected more from someone who has written several books and written speeches for a president of the United States.

If we lie to ourselves, who wouldn’t we lie to?

I have been a lifelong Republican, but I have never subscribed to the notion of keeping quiet about an injustice in favor of party loyalty, double standards and hypocrisy. We have no leadership because all our leaders appear only to claim credit for the good they do, then weasel out of being accountable for their faults. I was sorry to hear that Ms. Noonan has not offered the “grace” that she proposes and suggests we need, but has offered more of the same that has us currently in quite a number of fixes, including one where people are compelled to attack the United States.

America appears to have become a nation of ‘do as I say, not as I do’ “leaders”. With all due respect, Ms. Noonan sadly did not do much to change that perception that also appears in a sector of the public that supports such attitudes, if it is not a reality.

This statement from Ms. Noonan realy summed it up for me in her telling the story of the captail guard try to save people. Quote ” These people are not use to being told to ,Pay Attention!”
This is why we should reelect NO ONE! On topic enough?

“please check out the BBC they know how to question a politician.
The Brits don’t settle like we do”
Joan

No the BBC is a little empire all by itself. They think they are the real power in the Kingdom.

George Orwell’s 1984 took the BBC of his day in which he worked a model for Big Brother.

Moderate Y the BBC makes our news outlets look like corporate hacks.

You don’t like the BBC because they ask hard questions.
If Palin was on a BBC program she would be left in tears and we would all see what phony she is.

I find Peggy NOonan’s manner of speech the most annoying part of her. I am sure she cultivated this manner of speaking, no one actually speaks that way. She is so supercilious in her speech, as though she was speaking to a group of children. I wouldnot buy or read her book. It might be a good fire starter.

I found Peggy Noonan’s interview to be one of the best. I’ve seen Peggy on a variety of shows in the past week or so as she has been promoting her new book. I thought that Tom Ashbrook brought out a side to her that was much more revealing. I didn’t know who she was until I saw her on TV recently, or that she was a Reagan speech writer which I found out on “On Point”. What is interesting to me is that I know just how skilled the Reagan team was at conveying a message with the strategic use of words and the tone and manner by which one might present them. In my opinion, Peggy certainly embodies everything I have come to know about the style by which Reagan became known as “The Great Communicator”. What I found to be so interesting was Tom’s ability to almost get Peggy to break character. She was so “graceful” when talking about the current state of the country, and her book, but when Tom challenged her just a little bit about Reagan’s policies she became quite defensive and flustered.
Everyone deserves to be challenged when it comes to politics. If ideas are good enough they can be defended with out too much strain. I think that Tom Ashbrook would make a fine moderator in the format of a presidential debate.

Peggy has shown us that she has not a clue what patriotism or grace means. We shall see the day when
this country is under a dictatorship - thanks to people like her. Sad & sick, but not sorry.