The headline you thought you'd never see:
Peggy Noonan nails the President

You never know which mode of Noonan is going to roll out-- she's as capable of writing with intense emotion (Why They Ran) as she is of wielding the pundit's sledgehammer.

Today, with a little bit of both, she nails President Bush perfectly-- short, sharp analysis of what's ailing his presidency, where he blew it when Katrina blew in, and a hint of where he ought to go from here if he's smart. I would only add to her comment about how the Republican party is torn, that among what's on the table that needs to be addressed is a general recollection of how to fight a war-- more specifically, how to fight this war and in what ways it's unlike other wars, either of history or of Donald Rumsfeld's imagination. The fact that a Bush favorite has fallen over at FEMA is a whole new world for the President of "Loyalty"-- dares one hope that other positions in the administration are no longer assumed to be unassailably secure?

Noonan detects the scent of renewal in the air-- I hope she's right.