March 09, 2006
Ouch
John at Spitbull compares Peggy Noonan's take on George Clooney's Hollywood Bravery Blather with that of Mark Steyn.
I agree with John that Peggy's style sometimes gets in the way of the otherwise sound point she's trying to make. But holding her up to a side-by-side comparison with the blow-torch-like writing of Steyn just seems, well, cruel.
Posted by Robert at March 9, 2006 02:00 PM | TrackBackI hate to say it, but at least Steyn got to the point.
Posted by: Brian B at March 9, 2006 02:31 PMIn fairness, Noonan and Steyn aren't really trying to do the same thing. To say that Noonan is no Steyn is like saying that Patrick O'Brian is no Wodehouse.
The difference here is a little more pointed because they were writing about exactly the same event--which hardly ever happens--and Clooney's unctuous self-satisfaction just cried out for Steyn's style of takedown. Nobody does mockery like he does.
Posted by: utron at March 9, 2006 03:12 PMTrue. And to continue the analogy, one wouldn't advise O'Brian to write light comedy or Wodehouse to write historical fiction.
Noonan came of age as a speech writer for Reagan and writing speeches isn't the same thing as writing political commentary. If Noonan has a weakness, it's that she sometimes forgets the rhetorical difference between the two.
Posted by: Robbo the LB at March 9, 2006 03:18 PM
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