Comments on: Peggy Noonan on John Edwards’ Hair Poofing

By: PoliBlog ™: A Rough Draft of my Thoughts » The Return of the Toast-o-Meter!

Mon, 31 Dec 2007 19:29:09 +0000

[...] OTB: Peggy Noonan and John Edward’s Hair Poofing. [...]

By: Little Miss Attila

Little Miss Attila — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 00:30:28 +0000

Gleening the Hidden Meanings in Peggy Noonan's Writing.... So, I've forgotten: is Glen Greenwald a total idiot, or a liar? Just askin'. Why does Salon continue to give this guy space? His response to Peggy Noonan's roundup of the Presidential field is simply an embarrassment to political discourse.......

By: Missouri Liberal » Oh, Peg

Missouri Liberal » Oh, Peg — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 20:14:36 +0000

[...] Peggy Noonan in some time, which is a wonderful thing, but now she’s out spouting her usual inanities. How a woman who wrote some of Ronald Reagan’s best speeches can say this type of crap and [...]

By: Eneils Bailey

Eneils Bailey — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 17:44:36 +0000

Just a personal preference, not knowing much about him:
If I were to be at a public urinal and John Edwards was directly behind me, I would shake, drip, tuck, and zip before I turned around.
And on the way out, I don't think I would be standing before a mirror doing a "hair poofing."

But, then again, maybe John Edwards squats when he drains his salamander.

By: Jay Rosen

Jay Rosen — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 14:37:09 +0000

Hi James: Couldn't find an email address for you. So I am sending you this link via comment thread. Something I thought might interest you, as it concerns something you have written about: "Most of them are not ideologically driven; they just want to get on the front page." Cheers...

By: Bithead

Bithead — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 20:00:01 +0000

Glenn Greenwald has been radicalized with respect to gay-bashing. The practical implication of that is that if any utterance can conceivably be taken as gay-bashing, it inevitably will be

Man, you got that right. Did you see the drooling he's doing over this? In the end, this is not about questioning Edward's masculinity, but about questioning his self-centeredness. Of course Greenwald can't see it.

By: Announcerguy

Announcerguy — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 19:16:12 +0000

Glen Greenwald might be over-reaching with his linking of Noonan's "Poofing" comment with British slang for homosexuality, but as usual, he's spot on with the larger analysis. Noonan is following the prescribed Republican attack line for Edwards; namely, that he's not man enough to be president. Despite the fact that her former boss used more hair care products than a roomful of beauty pageant contestants, and more rouge than a street corner full of Bowery hookers, this is now the established line on Edwards, and she follows it without a hint of irony or apology. Her homophobic assault disguises the real motive of such a piece: Edwards must be insulted and deemed "unreasonable" based on frivolous charges, because if his brand of "intemperate and insincere" populism strikes a responsive chord, and gains traction with middle and working-class voters, real alarm bells will sound within the ruling class. Using Noonan's logic, we could also have judged FDR as "intemperate and insincere," since he, too, was a member of the ruling elite, and was seen as a class traitor by many of them. Edwards is a genuine threat to those people, therefore, he must be taken out using a faux argument, one that Republicans think will resonate with the hoi polloi. If they've guessed wrong, and Edwards gains momentum, all bets are off.

By: Tlaloc

Tlaloc — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 18:23:13 +0000

I have to feel sort of bad for Edwards. I'm not that fond of him but he, by far, gets the most ridiculous crap thrown at him by political rivals.

How many news stories have there been about him that haven't mentioned either his hair or the size of his house?

By: carpeicthus

carpeicthus — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 18:16:41 +0000

Jake: Learn to read. James is saying that Glenn is overreaching. Which, in fact, he is.

By: carpeicthus

carpeicthus — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 18:15:17 +0000

We already have a president who, when he thought the cameras weren't rolling, decided to use that time to give the audience the finger. I'll take someone who has to groom themeselves for TV (as in, anyone who's ever been on TV), over an overgrown six-year-old on a destructive streak.

By: Jim Demetre

Jim Demetre — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 18:07:22 +0000

Peggy Noonan is one of the worst examples of contemporary political commentators. While no one would ever expect an astute analysis of a politician's worth from her, she does gets credit for her ability to capture the image a candidate projects. But like some intoxicated teenager, she is incapable of seeing - in the case of Reagan, for example - the feeble-minded, aging actor who hid behind the persona of a gallant, masculine horseman. Why anyone would take her comments about John Edwards hair seriously is beyond me.

By: The Heretik : Instant Conventional Wisdom

The Heretik : Instant Conventional Wisdom — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 17:19:17 +0000

[...] We? We would like a writer who does not appear to be obviously insane. John Edwards and his hair? Nuts. [...]

By: Peggy Noonan’s Fairly Reasonable Assessment of the Candidates - Liberal Values - Defending Liberty and Enlightened Thought

Fri, 28 Dec 2007 16:48:06 +0000

[...] by some bloggers suggesting that this one throw away line is characteristic of her entire column. James Joyner also notes that Glenn Greenwald is inaccurate in his criticism. The YouTube video is hardly the [...]

By: journalschism

journalschism — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 16:45:16 +0000

Did I miss something? Because all I see in that clip is a U.S. Senator combing his hair before a TV appearance. What is the big f*cking deal????

The thing that really gets me is that if the guy gets on TV looking disheveled, immediately the story is, "What's wrong with John Edwards and his bizarre, unkempt appearance?"

Reasonable, substantive political discourse in this country is dead and gone.

By: Mark Greene

Mark Greene — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 16:34:29 +0000

It seems Edwards draws personal attacks almost exclusively. It indicates that Conservative pundits like Noonan believe they will loose a debate with Edwards on the issues.

Hence, where Edwards is concerned, we're gonna keep hearing about his hair. Another example of the kind of limited number of "safe" issues the Right wing is reduced to working with after seven years of George Bush.