Peggy Noonan reflects on a “troubled, frayed” America

These days, you’ll find Peggy Noonan in many places: in front of budding crowds, at political roundtables and, for the past quarter-century, in the opinion section of the Wall Street Journal. But when she was just starting out in Washington, DC, you could find Noonan at Off the Record Bar, near her job at the White House. “I’d sit over there by myself, I’d order a beer or a glass of wine and I’d just sit quietly and read,” she said.

In 1984, Noonan joined President Ronald Reagan’s staff after working at CBS in New York. At first she felt like an outsider in the buttoned-up West Wing, but quickly became a recognized speechwriter. Early on, she wrote Reagan’s moving speech for the 40th anniversary of D-Day.

Then, when the Challenger shuttle tragically exploded, Noonan was given a difficult task: writing Reagan’s address to a distraught nation. “I had a feeling that it wasn’t working, nothing was working, because nothing was worthy of that moment; nothing was worthy of that day,” she said. “But then Frank Sinatra called—he called the White House that night to say, ‘Mr. President, you just said what needed to be said.’ And Frank didn’t call after every speech!”

By the late eighties, Noonan had cemented a reputation as a wordsmith, and Reagan turned to her for his farewell speech:

“We made the city stronger, we made the city freer. All in all, not bad, not bad at all.”

George HW Bush also addressed Noonan as he rallied Republicans on the way to the White House. “You know, part of life is luck,” she said. “It was not lucky to follow the dazzling Ronald Reagan and be more ordinary, apparently robust George HW Bush. But I believe that history did not – certainly in his time – sufficiently do him justice.”

That statement is one of many found in the pages of her new book, “A Certain Idea of ​​America,” a collection of her recent work (published Tuesday by Portfolio).

Asked what her idea of ​​America is today, Noonan replied, “Big, heady, troubled, frayed.”

Noonan’s columns often delve into questions of character and leadership. “What I don’t perceive now is a lot of politicians actually saying, Guys, this is not good for the country. We got this beautiful thing called America. Switch it up! Keep it up!”

Costa said: “You have a lot of fun in this book, doing what you call taking the cane to certain people from time to time.”

“I don’t mind the stick at all,” Noonan said. “When I see something that I think is just terrible, I love to get mad at it. I got mad at John Fetterman.”

“You don’t like him wearing shorts?”

“I’m fine with him wearing shorts,” she replied, “but he’s not allowed to change the rules of the United States Senate to accommodate him in his little shorts and hoodie because he enjoys dressing like a child.”

Noonan, now 74, grew up in the Democratic strongholds of New York and New Jersey. “And I was very happy about that, because the Democrats were tougher than the Republicans,” she said. “The Democrats were little Bobby Kennedy and the Republicans were like Dick Thornburgh!”

But in Reagan she saw something fresh. “You looked at him, you saw his confidence, and it made you feel optimistic,” she said.

Of course, the Gipper no longer dominates the Republican Party, and President-elect Trump’s victory could transform the GOP even more in the coming years. “In terms of politics, the Republican Party has changed by becoming not a standard, conventional conservative party, but a populist party,” Noonan said. “Its problems have changed a lot. But also the edge of anger and resentment and, I’m afraid, a little paranoia that is in the Republican Party now, would be something that Reagan didn’t recognize.”

At Off the Record Bar, the faces on the wall – caricatures of past politicians – and at the tables still catch her eye. For Noonan, it’s all part of history—America’s and her own.

Costa said, “In a way, you’re still the writer in the corner watching everyone in the bar in Washington.”

“Yes, I like to see them,” she said. “They’re human and you bring a little warmth to it, a little humor, and always bring your stick and smack them when you need to! It’s kind of nice.”

READ AN EXCERPT: “A Certain Idea of ​​America” ​​by Peggy Noonan

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Story produced by David Rothman. Editor: Joseph Frandino.