Most of the Wall Street Journal columnists are predictably Republican and narrowly capitalist--except for Thomas Frank. Usually this means that the nuances are ignored. Each columnist goes for the prescribed weaknesses, dictated by the party. Thankfully, the rules are ignored by a few and one of those, on a regular basis, is Peggy Noonan, President Reagan's speech writer. Her insights are rarely, maybe never, constrained by the party establishment. She could praise Bush for one thing and use a knife for another. She can also do the same with Obama.
But what Noonan is especially good at is looking closely at "the facts on the ground," and chastising her own party elders--Gingrich and Limbaugh. I'd appreciate more columnists engaging at that level. It makes for fun reading. It also clarifies the political issues. Here's Friday's Noonan (WSJ) column:
She (Judge Sonia Sotomayor) is of course a brilliant political pick—Hispanic when Republicans have trouble with Hispanics, a woman when they've had trouble with women. Her background (public housing, Nuyorican, Catholic school, Princeton, prominence) is as moving as Clarence Thomas's, and that is moving indeed. Politically she's like a beautiful doll containing a canister of poison gas: Break her and you die.
She also understands the English language. Enjoy.