Peggy Noonan looks back on a “troubled and frayed” America

These days, you’ll find Peggy Noonan in many places: in front of opening ceremony crowds, at policy roundtables and, for a quarter century, in the opinion section of the Wall Street Journal. But when she was getting her start in Washington, D.C., Noonan could be found at Off the Record Bar, near her job at the White House. “I would sit there alone, order a beer or a glass of wine, and 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 West Wing, but she quickly became an acclaimed 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 speech to a distraught nation. “I had the feeling that it hadn’t worked, that nothing had worked, because nothing was worthy of that moment; nothing was worthy of that day,” he said. she declared. “But then Frank Sinatra called – he called the White House that evening to say, ‘Mr. President, you just said what needed to be said.’ And Frank didn’t call after every speech!”

By the late 1980s, Noonan had established a reputation as a wordsmith, and Reagan turned to her for his farewell address:

“We made the city stronger, we made it freer. Overall, it’s not bad, not bad at all.”

George HW Bush also turned to Noonan as he rallied Republicans en route to the White House. “You know, luck is a part of life,” she said. “It was not a chance to follow the dazzling Ronald Reagan and be clearer and more robust than George HW Bush. But I believe history has not been – certainly in his time – sufficiently fair to regard to him.”

That opinion is one of many found in the pages of his new book, “A Certain Idea of ​​America,” a collection of his recent work (out Tuesday from Portfolio).

When asked what his idea of ​​America was today, Noonan responded: “Big, loud, troubled, frayed.”

Noonan’s columns often address issues of character and leadership. “What I don’t understand today is that many politicians are actually saying: Guys, this is not good for the country. We have been given this beautiful thing called America. Make it shine! Keep it up !”

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

“The batting doesn’t bother me at all,” Noonan said. “When I see something that I think is just horrible, I like to get angry. I got angry at John Fetterman.”

“You don’t like that he wears shorts?”

“I agree that he wears shorts,” she replied, “but he is not allowed to change the rules of the United States Senate to accommodate his little shorts and hoodie , because he likes to dress 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 cooler than the Republicans,” she said. “The Democrats were little Bobby Kennedy, and the Republicans were like Dick Thornburgh!”

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

The Gipper, of course, no longer dominates the Republican Party, and President-elect Trump’s victory could transform the Republican Party even further in the years to come. “In terms of policy, the Republican Party has changed by becoming not a standard conservative party, but a populist party,” Noonan said. “His issues have changed a lot. But also, the edge of anger and resentment and, I’m afraid, a little bit of paranoia that’s going on in the Republican Party now would be something Reagan didn’t recognize.”

At Off the Record Bar, the faces on the walls – caricatures of politicians from the past – and at the tables always catch his attention. For Noonan, this is all part of history – America’s and his own.

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

“Yeah, I like watching them,” she said. “They’re human, and you bring a little warmth to it, a little humor, and you always bring your stick and hit them when you have one. need it!” That’s pretty cool.”

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

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Story produced by David Rothman. Editor: Joseph Frandino.