Ted Sorrenson, JFK's presidential speech writer, when asked how it came about that he wrote the "ask not what you can do..." speech, he would answer 'ask not.' — Peggy Noonan Copy Share Image
Politicians, please, think of yourselves! Move to help Terri Schiavo, and no one will be mad at you, and you'll keep a human being… — Peggy Noonan Copy Share Image
What we need most right now, at this moment, is a kind of patriotic grace - a grace that takes the long view, apprehends the moment we're in, comes up with ways of dealing with it, and eschews the politically cheap and manipulative. That admits affection and respect. That encourages them. That acknowledges that the small things that divide us… — Peggy Noonan Copy Share
I love eulogies. They are the most moving kind of speech because they attempt to pluck meaning from the fog, and on short order,… — Peggy Noonan Copy Share Image
But one immediate thing can be done right now, and that is: lower the temperature. Any way you can, and everybody. Just lower it. — Peggy Noonan Copy Share Image
Most people aren't appreciated enough, and the bravest things we do in our lives are usually known only to ourselves. No one throws ticker… — Peggy Noonan Copy Share Image
Boundaries aren't all bad. That's why there are walls around mental institutions. — Peggy Noonan Copy Share Image
TV gives everyone an image, but radio gives birth to a million images in a million brains. — Peggy Noonan Copy Share Image
When everyone in America knows you're in a dreadful position, admit you're in a dreadful position. Don't lie about it and make them roll… — Peggy Noonan Copy Share Image
Beware the politically obsessed. They are often bright and interesting, but they have something missing in their natures; there is a hole, an empty… — Peggy Noonan Copy Share Image
Loyalty consists of many things, including being truthful with our friends. When you really disagree, you have to say so. — Peggy Noonan Copy Share Image
Our patriotic fervor was the result of the old and widespread belief in the idea of American exceptionalism, the idea that America was a new thing in history, different from other countries. Other nations had evolved one way or another, evolved from tribes from a gathering of clans, from inevitabilities of language and tradition and geography. But America was born,… — Peggy Noonan Copy Share
