Peggy Noonan: Palin's Failin'

Wall Street Journal:

"Sometimes the leak is so bad that even a plumber can't fix it." This was the concise summation of a cable political strategist the other day, after the third and final presidential debate. That sounds about right, and yet the race in its final days retains a feeling of dynamism. I think it is going to burst open or tighten, not just mosey along. I can well imagine hearing, the day after Election Day, a lot of "You won't believe it but I was literally in line at the polling station when I decided."

John McCain won the debate, and he did it by making the case more effectively than he has in the past that Barack Obama will raise taxes, when "now, of all times in America, we need to cut people's taxes." He also scored Mr. Obama on his eloquence, using it against him more effectively than Hillary Clinton ever did. When she said he was "just words," it sounded like a bitter complaint. Mr. McCain made it a charge: Young man, you attempt to obscure truth with the mellifluous power of your words. From Mrs. Clinton it sounded jealous, but when Mr. McCain said it, you looked at Mr. Obama and wondered if you'd just heard something that was true. For the first time, Mr. Obama's unruffled demeanor didn't really work for him. His cool made him seem hidden.

Read the whole story: Wall Street Journal

Comments

[SeekerOne]

Hey, Huffpo, see if you can't do a better job of presenting this article. Everyone is focused on Noonan's declaration that McCain won the debate rather than her admission that Palin is a disaster.

[blair771999]

Palin is Pathetic..

[MrKINOKO]

LOL...I sincerely hope this article was published as satire...b­ecause I'm sure you couldn't possibly believe what you wrote. Right?

[lbcyclist]

Too bad there are so few Peggy Noonan's writing intelligent opinions eloquently.

[bartonfink]

she's spot on re: palin and the poisonous rhetoric she spews, but evidently viewed the 3rd debate from an alternate universe. words from a former presidential speechwriter diminishing words from a presidential candidate as "mellifluo­us." is that what you said, peggy "1ooo points of lite" noonan?

pot and kettle, baby, pot and kettle

[pjburns11]

Could her emails be hiding her special secret baby names?

What would YOU name the next Palin baby... you know there are going to be more.

http://thetruthburns.wordpress.com/2008/10/18/could-her-emails-be-hiding-secret-palin-baby-names/

[longtimeamericalover]

Nice to see Peggy Noonan come out of her intellectual closet, at least part way. I have never shared her politics but had trusted in her integrity and sincerity until recent times when she repeatedly ignored the Emperor's nakedness. She's always been a sentimental woman, it must be hard for her to give Palin up. When she looks clearly at McCain, we'll know Peg is gonna make it. Meanwhile, shouldn't we give her some support so that other conservative women could join her in speaking truth to powermongers?

[wedapeepo]

well said!

[littlebuddylouie]

Like other so called thoughtful conservatives, Peggy Noonan seems to be struggling with the cognitive dissonance that comes when harsh reality simply no longer matches the ideology that one has worked so hard to believe in for a very long time.
She starts this column off by giving McCain credit for winning the debate, and then closes it by questioning and criticizing his judgment and idealism because of the Palin pick.
Those tax questions that she claims McCain scored points with are in line with what one might think of as traditional conservative principles. The Palin pick is an accurate reflection of what the Republican party has actually become.
Like thinking that McCain won the debate, if she still thinks that the National Review is a great magazine, she may be a bit out of touch. If she still believes that her vision of traditional conservative ideals has anything to do with the current reality of the Republican party, she needs to get over that.
Like a grief process, maybe she will find acceptance eventually, but then she may have to find another line of work as well.

[AnalyzeIT]

NCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Alaska's black leaders say they're not surprised to see Gov. Sarah Palin at the center of the controversy over injecting the race issue into the presidential campaign.

Palin, Republican John McCain's running mate, has repeatedly insisted that Barack Obama's former preacher, the inflammatory Rev. Jeremiah Wright, is a legitimate issue even though McCain himself has said it's out of bounds.

"She has no sensitivity to minorities," said the Rev. Alonzo Patterson, a Baptist minister and president of the Alaska Black Leadership Conference. "She's really inciting a lot of African-Americans to get out and vote."

Since taking office in December 2006, Palin has had a sometimes tense relationship with black leaders, who say they've been ignored in their efforts to get more minorities hired in her administration.
In Alaska, blacks chafed when Palin opposed a proclamation endorsing a festival that marks the freeing of slaves. On the campaign trail, her events sometimes have attracted fringe groups hostile to minorities.

"It's really been like you're going to a Ku Klux Klan rally," said Javis Odom, an Anchorage minister. "Gov. Palin is really showing her true colors on the national stage."

[elcojonu]

Mc Angry won the debate !!!
Peggy, hon, were we watching the same debate ???
You didn't see all those faces and angry demeanor ??
The things some folks do and say to make a living !

[BeaverJim]

Regarding Palin, Noonan hit the nail on the head.

As an Alaskan, I can tell you that Palin's mantra is "She will lead where you will follow."

Palin is bad for Alaska.
She would catastrophic for the US.

[Doofus]

Peg Noonan is putting out the obligatory WSJ line, that which is required by
the capitalist wing of the GOP, that Obama will raise taxes. Now, he SAID he
would raise taxes on the wealthy, LOWER taxes on everyone else. What clearly
matters to the Repos & the WSJ is the part about the wealthy paying more.
Everyone else is irrelevant. (Who believes McCain won this or any debate?)

As for Sarah Palin, the capitalist wing clearly does NOT LIKE HER and is
evidently concerned about further damage she may do to the GOP & the
country, given the chance.

Interesting though, are the kind words about Truman, about those candidates
with 'thin resumes', that they can achieve greatness. She is talking about Obama.
She KNOWS she is talking about Obama.

[Scarmouche]

Noonan and Buchanan say McCain won the debate. What else would you expect them to say? No surprises here. In fact, Buchanan says McCain won all three debates. So if McCain loses the election it was stolen from him by Acorn? Ah yes, I see the scenario now. The Repugs will do anything to hang on to power so they can continue driving this country into a ditch with their tax cuts for the rich and unregulated stock market. Next up, privatization of Social Security!

[walkthewalk]

Peggy Noonan is a true conservative, but she's a smart one, and she's willing to say out loud what so many of us have shouted for the past seven weeks: Sarah Palin is held together with spit. She has no center. She has no vision. She has no intellectual curiosity. She has no business running to be a heartbeat away from the presidency of the United States.

[KNadine]

Peggy Noonan is about as outdated as John McCain is. Who exactly is her target audience. I'm 41 and she seems like a dinosaur to me. I can only imagine what the younger generation thinks.