Peggy Noonan, Comic

"Sarah Palin's resignation gives Republicans a new opportunity to see her plain--to review the bidding, see her strengths, acknowledge her limits, and let go of her drama. ... But she was not thoughful. She was a gifted retail politician who displayed the disadvantages of being born into a point of view (in her case a form of conservatism; elsewhere and in other circumstances, it could have been a form of liberalism) and swallowed it whole: She never learned how the other sides think, or why. ... She couldn't say what she read because she didn't read anything. ... She wasn't thoughtful enough to know she wasn't thoughtful enough. Her presentation up to the end has been scattered, illogical, manipulative and self-referential to the point of self-reverence. 'I'm not wired that way,' 'I'm not a quitter,' 'I'm standing up for our values.' I'm, I'm, I'm. ... McCain-Palin lost. Mrs. Palin has not stepped down, but she continues to poll high among some members of the Republican base, some of whom have taken to telling themselves Palin myths. ... What she is, is a seemingly very nice middle-class girl with ambition, appetite and no sense of personal limits. 'She's not Ivy League [IL], that's why her rise has been thwarted! She represented the democratic ideal that you don't have to go to Harvard or Brown to prosper, and her fall represents a failure of egalitarianism.' ... 'The elites hate her.' The elites made her. ... She is a complete elite confection. She might as well have been a bonbon. ... Actually, it's arguable that membership in the self-esteem movement harmed her. For 30 years the self-esteem movement told the young they're perfect in evey way. It's yielding something new in history: an entire generation with no proper sense of inadequacy. ... Here's why all this matters. The world is a dangerous place. It has never been more so, or more complicated, more straining of the reasoning powers of those with actual genius and true judgment. This is a time for conservative leaders who know how to think", my emphasis, Peggy Noonan (PN) at the WSJ, 11 July 2009, link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124716984620819351.html.

"This column is fascinating. While I disagree with some of the content, I believe that the final analysis is probably correct. Interestingly, Ms. Noonan identifies weaknesses in Ms. Palin that are clearly present in another candidate from last year's presidential election: Barack Obama. Without his teleprompter he stutters and stammers his way through answers to questions. ... His grasp of international relations is appalling. His understanding of rogue regimes and their leaders is naive, at best. He is systematically creating economic problems for the future, forcing incredible debt through an all too willing Democratic Congress, and with his identity politics he is as likely to stir discord as to encourage peace among the various factions within this country", my emphasis, Mike McCreary (MM) letter to the WSJ, 17 July 2009, link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124779751745155827.html.

In reading this I thought PN a gutless wonder, afraid to attack "Mr. 57 states, my grandfather liberated Auschwitz" directly, so PN uses Basil Hart's "indirect method" and attacks Palin noting her and Obama's shared characteristics. PN claims Palin believes she is a victim of the "self-esteem movement". Did Palin apply to Harvard, or did Palin conclude, after looking at her grades and test scores, "I am a white girl. I will not be admitted. Why waste an application fee"? I look at Obama, a man I believe today, that's right, after two IL degrees, could not have survived in my fifth-grade class. A bunch of 10 and 11-year olds would have sent him out of the classroom crying, "mama, these kids beat me up. Help". I last commented on Palin on 22 November 2008, link: http://skepticaltexascpa.blogspot.com/2008/11/sarah-palin-two-views.html. link: Self-referential? Didn't Obama write Dreams from my Father? Look at Obama and Sotomayor, are they the IL's jokes on America, as if the IL says, "See what we did. We can take almost anyone, slap some paper on him and get him elected president or appointed to the Supreme Court. Joke's on you! America, laugh. Now. That's an order". Obama, who pushes unliateral US nuclear disarmament, sees the "world is a dangerous place"? Really? "Actual genius and true judgment". what sarcasm PN. If this comment isn't a dagger aimed right at Obama, what is?

Yes MM. I may have given PN too much credit. Her piece may not have been written "tongue in cheek".