Her ratio of readable/nonsensical pieces is, sadly, still about 1/25, or roughly 2 worthwhile columns each year.
But last weekend's was actually a terrific one.
After spending months glorifying Wonderboy and his new approach to politics, Noonan has finally woken up to the fact that he is foundering desperately.
"The president seems everywhere and nowhere, not fully focused on the matters at hand. He's trying to keep up with the news cycle with less and less to say. "I am angry" about AIG's bonuses. The administration seems buffeted, ad hoc. Policy seems makeshift, provisional. James K. Galbraith captures some of this in The Washington Monthly: "The president has an economic program. But there is, so far, no clear statement of the thinking behind the program."
Mr. Obama likes to say presidents can do more than one thing at a time, but in fact modern presidents are lucky to do one thing at a time, never mind two. Great forces are arrayed against them.
These are the two great issues, the economic crisis and our safety. In the face of them, what strikes one is the weightlessness of the Obama administration, the jumping from issue to issue and venue to venue from day to day. Isaiah Berlin famously suggested a leader is a fox or a hedgehog. The fox knows many things but the hedgehog knows one big thing. In political leadership the hedgehog has certain significant advantages, focus and clarity of vision among them. Most presidents are one or the other. So far Mr. Obama seems neither."
It's noteworthy, at this point, to recall the president for whom Noonan once worked.
The Gipper was so effective because he really only focused on three things during his eight years as US president:
-Cut federal spending, or at least its rate of growth
-Cut tax rates
-Rebuild defense while abetting the fall of the Soviet Union.
He accomplished all three.
Finally, Peggy Noonan has woken up and realized that Wonderboy is way, way overmatched by the job. He's drowning and totally incapable of effectively handling the office he wanted so badly.
By accident, I saw a few seconds of his performance on Jay Leno. It was one time I couldn't get to the television controller to hit the 'mute' button fast enough.
What I heard Wonderboy say was something to the effect of,
'I ran for President because I wanted to change things.'
Not,
"Given my success at running the state of Illinois as a two-term Governor, I wanted to bring my skill and expertise to Washington."
Nor,
"With my background as a successful business executive, I wanted to use my talents and experience to fix things in Washington."
No, it's just,
"Hey, I woke up one day and said, why not run for President? I haven't done anything in my life to remotely qualify me. But I have ideas I'd like implemented."
And now, Peggy Noonan is waking up to this fact. He has no executive nor management skills, nor experience, on which to draw.
And we are evidently stuck with him for almost four more years.
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