Wonkette loves slamming this wordy ex-Reagan speech writer, but I’ve always sort of liked her. But this is  an eye-roll wrapped in a thesaurus.

FROM WONKETTE:

One of the most refreshingly honest moments of the 2008 campaign came when Peggy Noonan, a columnist and former Republican speechwriter, was caught on a live mike calling the choice of Sarah Palin to run on the Republican ticket “political bullshit.” She smoothed over her harsh remarks in a subsequent column, saying she liked Palin even if she wasn’t sure the selection would be successful. But now that Palin has announced her plan to resign as Alaska Governor, Noonan apparently feels free to speak openly.

In television interviews she was out of her depth in a shallow pool. She was limited in her ability to explain and defend her positions, and sometimes in knowing them. She couldn’t say what she read because she didn’t read anything. She was utterly unconcerned by all this and seemed in fact rather proud of it: It was evidence of her authenticity. She experienced criticism as both partisan and cruel because she could see no truth in any of it. She wasn’t thoughtful enough to know she wasn’t thoughtful enough. Her presentation up to the end has been scattered, illogical, manipulative and self-referential to the point of self-reverence. “I’m not wired that way,” “I’m not a quitter,” “I’m standing up for our values.” I’m, I’m, I’m.In another age it might not have been terrible, but here and now it was actually rather horrifying.

Noonan goes on to refute the most popular conservative arguments in Palin’s favor, from her supposed working-class credentials to the idea that she upsets the mainstream media.

I remember this moment.  It was an awesome moment that summed up what a lot of people like myself – people who have been conservative but made a switch because of Bush, or McCain, or the economy, or whatever – felt about the ascension of this cheesy lightweight from Alaska.

And here was Peggy Noonan – an actual conservative – stating in no uncertain terms, the words that we all thought.  ”Political Bullshit!”  It was awesome.

Then she backtracked, like a  senator or congressman who accidentally criticized Rush Limbaugh.  Disappointing.

Of course, now that Palin has jumped off the Titanic so she can steer the S.S. Palin, Peggy feels free to tell us what she actually thought in the moment she spoke the truth.

Well, too little too late.  ”Political Bullshit,” as she might like to say.

These are pretty words.  These are smart words.  And these are words people needed to hear when they were making their decisions, not after the fact so you can pretend to be principled.    Courage of conviction happens in the moment, not five months later when it’s convinient.

McCain made a horrible choice, and it was the final nail in the coffin of his career.  This was a moment that free-thinking conservatives could have stood up and said “Ya know, I disagree with Obama with all my heart, but Holy God is the Republican party a car crash.”

Instead, everybody just tried to wrap Palin with clothes, and a flag, and a hockey mask and a you betcha.  And now she’s a quitter. So now, everybody can dogpile on her.

Well guess what?  Some of us were dogpiling since “introducing Sarah Palin” and we were right.  That doesn’t make us haters, that makes us CORRECT.

So, I call shenanigans.  And cowardice.  Flowerly, well-written cowardice, but cowardice none-the-less.