Peggy Noonan Wants Us All To Stop Obsessing Over A President's Personality And Charisma

[DonViejo]

TOM KLUDT – FEBRUARY 14, 2014, 12:29 PM EST

Peggy Noonan, of all people, thinks the country has become too infatuated with the "personality" and "charisma" of its presidents.

In her latest Wall Street Journal column, the former Ronald Reagan speechwriter tried to glean some meaning from Diane Blair's papers on Hillary Clinton.

Noonan concluded that we've all been too focused on irrelevant characteristics in our presidents — a trend that started, conveniently, after her hero left the White House.

There is an emphasis on the personality, nature, character and charisma of the president. He gets into dramas. He survives them. He is working out his issues. He is avenging childhood feelings of powerlessness. He is working through his ambivalence at certain power dynamics. He will show dad.

It's pretty rich coming from Noonan, who once wrote this in her 2003 Reagan hagiography, "What I Saw at the Revolution":

more
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/peggy-noonan-personality-charisma-presidents

[babylonsister]

1. What a huge pile of poop! So, it's only ok when

she does it?

She wrote this about Obama: won't link to article because it's worthless.

He is cold, like someone who is contained not because he's disciplined and successfully restrains his emotions, but because there's not that much to restrain. This is the dark side of cool. One wonders if this will play well with the American people. Long-term it is hard to get people to trust your policies if they think you're coolly operating on some intellectual or ideological abstractions.

[Scuba]

2. That's hilarious, coming from St. Ronnie's most faithful disciple.

[Rex]

6. +1

She has NO credibility!

[shenmue]

16. Right on the mark

She has some nerve!

[C_U_L8R]

3. Peggy Noonan is a blowhard

and she surely doth protest too much

[onehandle]

4. I'm kind of with her in a skewed way.

Obama voters who only showed up for his "personality" and "charisma" in 2008, then failed to show up for 2010, did immeasurable damage to the country.

I expect the same for 2014.

[Rex]

5. THIS from the person that FAWNED all over the Reagans!?

FUCK...OFF...

[Blue_Tires]

19. In high school I was required to read "What I Saw at the Revolution"

Which was 400-page love letter to Nixon, Reagan and Bush...

[The Second Stone]

7. A president with no substance and all charm

would be Ronald Reagan. A president with no substance and no charm would be W.

[Snotcicles]

8. When one is void of "personality" and "charisma", one attempts minimize that of others. nt

[alsame]

9. ROFL, classic projection! nt

[Autumn]

10. Peggy Noonan? The same Peggy Noonan who was Ronald Reagans "Fluffer"?

I see.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

11. Let's not forget her creepy St. Ronnie foot fetish or whatever the fuck that was (disclaimer: I have

nothing against foot fetishes.)

I first saw President Reagan as a foot, highly polished brown cordovan wagging merrily on a hassock. I spied it through the door. It was a beautiful foot, sleek. Such casual elegance and clean lines! But not a big foot, not formidable, maybe a little ...frail. I imagined cradling it in my arms, protecting it from unsmooth roads.
Peggy Noonan, speechwriter for the Reagan administration
US speechwriter for George Bush (1950 - )

http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/23049.html

[Control-Z]

17. Ew. Creepy. (nt)

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

12. This from St. Ronnie's heavy-breathing chief hagiographer?

[uponit7771]

13. So do a lot of DU'rs, they hate him too

[gollygee]

14. I'd like to see what she wrote when Gore was running

and all the media people kept talking about how they'd rather have a beer with W. Did she think people should ignore W's personality?

[Gidney N Cloyd]

15. All Reagan HAD was irrelevant characteristics. Well, that and Noonan to make him seem substantial.

[Nay]

18. This, from the woman who spent years fellating that demented Reagan?

Honestly, can someone call her up and explain to her what "projection" is and tell her to STFU????

[rbrnmw]

20. she must be hitting the sauce again

She must have been in a blackout when she quite regularly praised Raygun's character, personality, and charisma. Also wasn't she one of the dittoheads that keep saying Dubya was a guy everyone wanted to have a beer with?

[Capt. Obvious]

21. Says the Reagan speech writer?

*

*Trademark infringement

[TheFrenchRazor]

22. look, if hitler says 2+2=4, i'm not going to disagree. nt