Peggy Noonan Strikes Back at Andrea Mitchell's Claim 'Republicans Are Trying to Appropriate Reagan'

I bet "Meet the Press" was surprised that her conservative personality was doing the talking today. I sure was.

Oh shucks, and all week long, I thought that Democrats and the Obama administration were trying to appropriate Ronald Reagan for their own political purposes.

You know like this, "Why Obama 'hearts' Reagan"

I'd note that in the Time cover photo, photoshopping Reagan's arm around Obama's [left] shoulder, is more than a bit slick.

(;~> gary

that is already yours?? Ronald Reagan was a Republican and a conservative...He was the president of all Americans, but he was a conservative Republican and was one of us.

Mitchell has got it backwards, the twit...The Dems are the ones who are trying to appropriate Reagan and his popular legacy...Obama and the libnuts are doing everything they can to try to attach themselves to and co-opt Reagan, in the hopes that Reagan's popularity will somehow rub off on Obama...Good luck with that one because it ain't gonna happen. The only things Obama and Reagan have in common is that they're both Americans and have both been president...Beyond that, these two men couldn't be more different.

I'm not always a fan of Peggy Noonan, but I'm very happy to see that she let Mitchell have it in this exchange...Good for her.  

when libs accused conservatives of "worshipping" Ronald Reagan, and one take was actually that we demanded that libs "worship" him as well.

Now, they're saying that conservatives are trying to steal the corpse.

This is all about the paint job they're trying to give Obumble. How do you associate the formerly most liberal Senator with somebody who was always considered an "arch" conservative, play down his politics.

But so what if Ronald Reagan reached "across the aisle", he didn't take the opposing party into a room and tell them "I won".

I have no clue when noonan is telling the truth or simply lying or trying to appear informed... Ever since her "open mike" episode about Sarah Palin, noonin has absolutely no credibility with me...

In fact, I only opened this to make this comment... I did not nor will not read, watch or listen to another word that woman says or writes...

He was authentic, which is I think one of the reasons why he's so admired after all of these years.

In the noble words of Col. Sherman Potter "HORSE HOCKEY" The state controlled media hated Reagan just as much as they hated Richard Nixon, Bush Sr, Bush Jr and now Sarah Palin. In fact, the entire leftist establishment hated him. Now they are paying lip service to him, just as they did at the time of his passing, because their current leader has proven to be a dunderhead or worse.

...in his twisted world, Obama believes himself to be as popular, effective and loved as Reagan is now.  Obama believes that, like Reagan, there are those who may not like him but time will show him to be, like Reagan, one of the greatest Presidents ever.  Obama really has no idea that he is regarded as a clueless fool and a pretender in the eyes of many Americans as well as world leaders, instead believing that his 'job' is much the same as that of the royal family in Britain...merely window-dressing and public appearances, you know, to encourage and entertain the masses.  He has as much ability to effectively lead this country as a show pony would; his job, he believes, is simply to exist.

...dismissed Mitchell's disingenous, wishful thinking very nicely.

I wish someone would have jumped on the equally phony Willie Brown's claim that Obama has been a stalwart proponent of President Reagan for many years (my words).

Clift and Mitchell are birds of a feather. Both claim they are so  elite and educated on all subjects of which, either has a clue. Reagan was a great President with class and compassion for this great country which is no comparison to what is happenong in the white house today. Zero, nadda, nothing!!

Clift and Mitchell are birds of a feather. Both claim they are so  elite and educated on all subjects of which, either has a clue. Reagan was a great President with class and compassion for this great country which is no comparison to what is happenong in the white house today. Zero, nadda, nothing!!

Four people who live atypical lives from the overwhelming majority of Americans are discussing the role of Reagan to America.  You can't understand Reagan unless you understand and ADMIRE main street Americans as Reagan did.

  Reagan grew up in the area I live and he went to school a few blocks from my house for a while.  I can attest to the small town values of hard work, self reliance and honesty Reagan would have been exposed to.

Might I post this useful link:

Speeches of Ronald Reagan.

For anyone and everyone.....read the man's own words, then decide for yourself....was he a "progressive"....like Bammy? 

From Reagan's first innaugural:

The business of our nation goes forward. These United States are confronted with an economic affliction of great proportions. We suffer from the longest and one of the worst sustained inflations in our national history. It distorts our economic decisions, penalizes thrift, and crushes the struggling young and the fixed-income elderly alike. It threatens to shatter the lives of millions of our people.

Idle industries have cast workers into unemployment, human misery, and personal indignity. Those who do work are denied a fair return for their labor by a tax system which penalizes successful achievement and keeps us from maintaining full productivity.

But great as our tax burden is, it has not kept pace with public spending. For decades we have piled deficit upon deficit, mortgaging our future and our children's future for the temporary convenience of the present. To continue this long trend is to guarantee tremendous social, cultural, political, and economic upheavals.

You and I, as individuals, can, by borrowing, live beyond our means, but for only a limited period of time. Why, then, should we think that collectively, as a nation, we're not bound by that same limitation? We must act today in order to preserve tomorrow. And let there be no misunderstanding: We are going to begin to act, beginning today.

The economic ills we suffer have come upon us over several decades. They will not go away in days, weeks, or months, but they will go away. They will go away because we as Americans have the capacity now, as we've had in the past, to do whatever needs to be done to preserve this last and greatest bastion of freedom.

In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem. From time to time we've been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people. Well, if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else? All of us together, in and out of government, must bear the burden. The solutions we seek must be equitable, with no one group singled out to pay a higher price.

We hear much of special interest groups. Well, our concern must be for a special interest group that has been too long neglected. It knows no sectional boundaries or ethnic and racial divisions, and it crosses political party lines. It is made up of men and women who raise our food, patrol our streets, man our mines and factories, teach our children, keep our homes, and heal us when we're sick -- professionals, industrialists, shopkeepers, clerks, cabbies, and truckdrivers. They are, in short, ``We the people,'' this breed called Americans.

Well, this administration's objective will be a healthy, vigorous, growing economy that provides equal opportunities for all Americans with no barriers born of bigotry or discrimination. Putting America back to work means putting all Americans back to work. Ending inflation means freeing all Americans from the terror of runaway living costs. All must share in the productive work of this ``new beginning,'' and all must share in the bounty of a revived economy. With the idealism and fair play which are the core of our system and our strength, we can have a strong and prosperous America, at peace with itself and the world.

So, as we begin, let us take inventory. We are a nation that has a government -- not the other way around. And this makes us special among the nations of the Earth. Our government has no power except that granted it by the people. It is time to check and reverse the growth of government, which shows signs of having grown beyond the consent of the governed.

It is my intention to curb the size and influence of the Federal establishment and to demand recognition of the distinction between the powers granted to the Federal Government and those reserved to the States or to the people. All of us need to be reminded that the Federal Government did not create the States; the States created the Federal Government.

Now, so there will be no misunderstanding, it's not my intention to do away with government. It is rather to make it work -- work with us, not over us; to stand by our side, not ride on our back. Government can and must provide opportunity, not smother it; foster productivity, not stifle it.

If we look to the answer as to why for so many years we achieved so much, prospered as no other people on Earth, it was because here in this land we unleashed the energy and individual genius of man to a greater extent than has ever been done before. Freedom and the dignity of the individual have been more available and assured here than in any other place on Earth. The price for this freedom at times has been high, but we have never been unwilling to pay that price.

It is no coincidence that our present troubles parallel and are proportionate to the intervention and intrusion in our lives that result from unnecessary and excessive growth of government. It is time for us to realize that we're too great a nation to limit ourselves to small dreams. We're not, as some would have us believe, doomed to an inevitable decline. I do not believe in a fate that will fall on us no matter what we do. I do believe in a fate that will fall on us if we do nothing. So, with all the creative energy at our command, let us begin an era of national renewal. Let us renew our determination, our courage, and our strength. And let us renew our faith and our hope.

Do tell, Andrea?  Is it REAL, or is it MEMOREX?

How DARE Republicans try to "appropriate" Reagan, as if he was one of them???

We are truly in Bizarro World.

So Reagan's conservatism was just a head-fake? (Don't forget: they know the truth.....)

Stephen Green, the Vodkapundit, put it very well (paraphrasing):

Liberals are so desperate to prop up the empty suit in the White House that they are now strapping it to Ronald Reagan's corpse.

We have Reagan: "Government's not the solution, it's the problem" 

Obama: "The Constitution is flawed because it doesn't spell out what the government ought to do for the people."

(both paraphrased)

and Obama is like Reagan????

The fact that somebody has to correct the Lame Stream Media about something so obvious- it's not like the guy was President 100 years ago.  I know exactly what Reagan did.  He was the complete opposite of Obama or 75% of the population of California.  He was like John Voight in that way.  An aberration from within a liberal socialist culture.  Which makes him even more brave if you ask me. 

In any case, I don't understand why these liberals aren't admitted to mental hospitals.  They are completely out of touch with history or present day reality.

Obama is a Communist.  Obama is foreign born.  Obama was born a Muslim.  Obama was raised a muslim.  Obama was schooled in a Jakarta Madrassa.

Reagan wouldn't let Obama touch his horse much less his Country.

So, to the lame stream media.  Blow it out your ass.

 

 

 

Noonan's restraint was amazing - she let Mitchell blather on, and only made her point when the moderator turned to her and (I suspect trying to get Mitchell's point accepted as a fait accompli), started to pose another question.

But Mitchell did not wait long until she started talking over Noonan, and I would love to have heard Noonan say "Don't talk over me when I had the good upbringing to endure your lies, you shameless hypocrite!"

 ...to be a Decepticon, like most of the mainstream media.  I wish someone would do a Lexus-Nexus search of every negative comment Mitchell has made about Reagan in her career and stack them against her 'positive" comments about him.  I'd bet you wouldn't find her making a single,  positive comment until this pathetic attempt to remake the image of Mr. Obama.   I came of political age during Carter's presidency.  I was fully tuned in during Reagan and I remember full well the constant barrage of attacks leveled at him by the people and news institutions who are now fawning over him.  It is absolutely surreal and is intended to decieve the American public.  I can't think of anyone who believes this tripe.  Even the people saying it, like Mitchell, HATE REAGAN and his legacy.  They are just desparate to get something to stick to make Obama look more presidential.   At least the honest liberals are still saying they hate him.

In fairness,  that pronounciation sounds so much better when Rush says it.

Thanks to her, and her inbred peers, we are stuck with the "Prince of DORK-ness" for at least another two years.

She still can't face the facts, and as usual,...makes up $hit as she goes along.

What do I,  personally , liken this presidency  to?

Simple. It's like being on an overseas flight, half-way across the Atlantic ocean, and learning that a bratty, 10-year-old kid has gained entry, and locked himself in the cockpit to "give it a whirl"...

 Mitchell's kid.  Or, at best,...a nephew.

On a lighter note, this was a decent showing for Peggy. Over the years, and too many times to count, I've chewed my fingernails up to the second knuckle, while  watching her TV appearances.

This was a rare, good day in the batters box  for Peg.

So that's what Noonan sounds like when an ovary works for 30 seconds.

All kidding aside, Noonan was sticking up for a friend.  Good to see one loyalty remains despite her attention seeking affectations.

Yes Reagan made agreements with Tip O'Niel to raise taxes, but these deals were tied to cuts of 2x1 in spending for every 1 in taxes--A promise broken by the Dems. He made a deal for Amnesty it was tied to enforcement which the Dems reneged on also.

Efforts to rewrite history by the Collectivist Socialist Progressive Left continue, they have much to answer for...

It is Obama and the left wing media who are trying to appropriate Reagan for political points. Reagan was very much a conservative. Obama is no Reagan...

We don't have to appropriate him....he's already ours.  Stupid people.

 As far as strike backs go… “Shock and Awe” it wasn’t!

As I remember during the presidential debates, Ronald Regan said to Jimmy Carter: “Mr. Carter, I paid for this microphone!” effectively shutting-up the second worse President in our history - Now that was a strike back!

The ever paternalistic sounding Noonan can’t bring herself to directly confront the lies without giving the other side some opening to refute her words or to make it seem (as in this case) the other side is well intentioned but just “slightly wrong.”

Republicans didn't appropriate Reagan, Reagan appropriated the Republicans!  Don't forget, Reagan was a Democrat, once.