So Peggy cursed. So fucking what?

[yendi]

I'm not the world's biggest fan of Peggy Noonan (big surprise), but the reactions to her gaffe yesterday -- from the left and right alike -- are just silly.

Yes, before Palin made the Speech to Nowhere, Peggy was caught on tape A) saying that she thought that Palin was not the most qualified person for the job, and B) referring to the choice as "bullshit."

The reactions seem to be a mix of, "she shouldn't question Palin," "she shouldn't have cursed on air," and "she thought she was in private, so how dare you talk about what she said."

To which I'd have to say, respectfully, bullshit.

First, of course there are Republicans who don't like Palin. There are Dems who don't like Biden. As a rule, during the campaign, party insiders and pundits try to not emphasize this, but it happens. It's not disloyal; in fact, it's a sign of loyalty that someone gives a shit about the party enough to want the best for them.

Second, she cursed. Big fucking deal. Noonan was a speechwriter for George H.W. Bush. If you'd had that job (which, it should be noted, she did damned well, to the extent that pretty much every phrase associated with him other than "not gonna do it" came from her pen), you'd curse, too.

And finally, the idea that there was any sort of betrayal in letting the speech out. Nope, not buying that one, either. Noonan isn't a media novice. No one set a trap for her. She was around a bunch of cameras and mikes, and she knows that anytime you're in a live studio situation, stuff gets out. It might not be as big a deal as the folks gasping and fanning themselves over her cursing or "disloyalty," but it's as newsworthy as any of the eight zillion other soundbites on the topic.

Comments

[feste-sylvain.livejournal.com]

Among the many things I hate about our president, I hate his reliance on "loyalty". It has poisoned discourse, it has insulated him from reality checks, and it has transformed the mindset at the top of a fairly powerful political institution (the Republican Party).

Noonan also wrote speeches for Reagan, and she'd get flak from others in his administration for sticking to Reagan's core principles rather than the script that they'd developed in committee. She's what Republicans need more than ever now: a thinker.

And everything she said about Palin was perfectly correct.

[lynxreign.livejournal.com]

The real curse she's apologizing for and that the Right is berating her for was the words "It's over".

[litch.livejournal.com]

What reactions specifically have you seen that are silly?

I haven't seen anything from the left and tend to avoid the right echochamber because it is full of such silliness.

Most people I read on the left know what a hypocritical bitch Noonan is from having read her tripe.

[yendi]

Most of it's on the right side of the 'sphere, but even the fact that CNN felt it was worth highlighting the curse was stupid.

I don't like much of what Noonan stands for, but that doesn't change the fact that she's also intelligent and a lot more perceptive than a lot of the TV talking heads.

[indigoleo.livejournal.com]

Peggy was caught on tape A) saying that she thought that Palin was not the most qualified person for the job, and B) referring to the choice as "bullshit."

Personally I feel that if it looks like bullshit and smells like bullshit and feels like bullshit, then the chances are very good that it is bullshit.
At least she's truthful about how she feels.

[yendi]

Yup.

[pnh.livejournal.com]

Quite the contrary, the reason people found her unwittingly-broadcast remarks interesting is that they revealed her to be anything but "truthful about how she feels." Her remarks were in direct contradiction to her most recent Wall Street Journal column, so much so that she had to spend several paragraphs of her subsequent column making a labored, rickety, and utterly unconvincing argument that they were actually consistent.

She revealed herself to be exactly what she is: a propagandist with a good ear. A hack.

[chebutykin.livejournal.com]

I found her WSJ column from yesterday -- and the added header after the video hit YouTube -- absolutely fascinating:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122044753790594947.html

[yendi]

Ditto.

[brak55.livejournal.com]

...and this is different from Bush calling some report an asshole when he though he was off-mike?

I don't remember a certain side complaining loudly about that.