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She doesn't hesitate to criticize the mistakes of the Bush administration but she does it fairly and with good judgment. I have recommended this book to many others. She made me think about what we should expect of our leaders. Peggy Noonan has a remarkable gift. In this brief book, she convinced me that our political discourse can and must become more civil.
I appreciate Peggy's comments and the way she thoughtfully expressed her ideas, however, the subject matter (politics and human interactions) seemed to drag on after about mid-way through the book. I read Peggy Noonan's WSJ editorials as often as I can - I love her writing style and editorial grace. Her serious and thoughtful observations warrant serious consideration. That being said, I would still recommend this book to any patriot. This book is also brimming with her style and the topic is about political grace. Although I don't consider myself a neocon I do lean that way.
Noonan believes the Bush Administration make a mistake by encouraging supporters to bash opponents before the press, the Internet, on blogs, etc. She argues for a stronger foreign policy and more civil defense preparation. We will have to learn to work together to overcome these future tests. The Bush White House issued its sentiments for their actions but failed to provide the facts needed to convince most of the people. The author believes the public feels its public institutions are faltering.
The public lost faith in their leaders.Noonan warns we need to be better prepared for the challenges facing us. This can allow for more creative voices to rise, and it can lead to more destructive voices being heard.The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks were a defining moment for our entire country. People will need to learn to work together instead of against each other. She specifically concludes that the Homeland Security Department should be broken into smaller departments will clearly defined missions and responsibilities. This contributed to the widening of the divide of the political divide. Noonan, a self-described "Reagan Republican", believes the Bush Administration destroyed a reputation that Republicans had spent a half century building on foreign policy matters.
We are always headed towards challenging times. It united us, yet that unity was a delicate one. The author supports the war in Iraq but believes that Bush failed to properly explain the need to go to war. She warns there may be a national test of our resolve. She notes that 60 percentage points was the difference between the percent of Republicans who supported the Iraq War and the percent of Democrats who supported the Iraq War. The nation fell into a partisan divide.
Liberals and conservatives will have to learn to join together to handle these challenges.A problem emerges in the advances of modern communication where people are able to more rapidly post anonymously information that can be read by many more people than in the past. The author believes this unity has fallen apart and she attributes it to an overconfident national Republican leadership that did not believe it needed help and support from those outside its inner circles by reaching out to Democrats and to Democrats that became critical of the actions by the Republican leadership.
Also, the entire book was sort of like a long version of one of her editorials, and a poorly written one at that. She seems to buy in to this liberal hand-wringing about America needing to have a better image in the eyes of the rest of the world, plus she jumps right on the Monday morning quarterback silliness of blaming Bush for Iraq exit strategy tactics. This was not the Noonan I expected. Being mostly a fan of Noonan's periodic articles in the Wall St. It didn't feel like something that warranted a hard cover. Her newspaper articles generally indicate a decent conservative with the right ideas about smaller government and individual responsibility. Journal, I was somewhat disappointed in this book. Granted she published this before the election outcome was known, but she tends to give the radical left democratic agenda sort of a pass.
I didn't dislike the book, but simply tired of the usage of "I" early in the reading - longest essay ever. However, she was on target with her observations and diagnoses - just wish she'd had the solutions.
and DEFINITELY get the Shop and Home Ec classes back in our schools. But, let's do be nicer and kinder; oh.
Good thing too. When she rambled, I scanned.
It's a start. I was able to scan its contents so much quicker.
When Noonan recounted stories, interviews and used quotes to validate her points, I was engaged and engrossed.
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