I want Peggy's job

Guest post by Libby Spencer

In her column "The Two Vacuums" on Friday, Peggy Noonan was ostensibly talking about politics but might as well be talking about housework for all that she addressed her premise that "[n]either Iraqis nor Democrats seem ready to do what's required of them." I would quote her, but she didn't tell us what that was. In fact she didn't tell us anything except that Pelosi wore an ugly outfit and that the majority of the world is "unserious" for wanting an exit strategy out of Iraq.

Glenn Greenwald has already dissected the piece with his usual surgical precision so I'm simply going to add that I've come to the realization that I'm on the wrong side of the fence. I want to give up thinking and become a wingnut pundit.

I'm sick of reading the news for four or five or six hours a day and spending all my time coming up with thoughtful, sensible analysis. I want to work from the right-wing template. These guys have it so easy. Just string together a bunch of high-sounding phrases that say nothing of substance and throw in a gratuitous smear or two against the fools that spend all their time trying to come up with real solutions to the nation's problems. Be sure to include "unserious" at least once to describe anyone who disagreed with you and has been consistently proven correct, and you're done for the day.

So what do you say, WSJ? How about giving me Peggy's job? I could do it my sleep...

On second thought, forget it. The trouble with that plan is that if I operated like that, I wouldn't be able to sleep. Intellectual dishonesty and moral barrenness would not allow me to rest easy. Darn that conscience of mine.

(Cross-posted at The Impolitic.)