Writing Boots

On communication, professional and otherwise.

Peggy, listen to yourself

12.23.2011 by David Murray // Leave a Comment

Former Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan—golly that's a long time to brag on a job, but it is the last interesting thing she's ever done—has a kind of review, in today's WSJ, of the new Margaret Thatcher biopic Iron Lady.

I'm concerned that Noonan has slipped the surly bonds of readable prose:

"The leftist intelligentsia of her day, which claimed loyalty to and identification with the poor and marginalized, was shot through with snobs and snobbery. Underneath their egalitarian chatter was (and to some degree still is) a hidden, hungry admiration for and desire to be associated with the well-named and well-connected."

Loyalty to and identification with … admiration for and desire to be associated with—in two consecutive sentences? Peggy, go back to your speechwriting basics and read your stuff out loud before you turn it in.

Categories // Uncategorized

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Now Available

An Effort to Understand

Order Now

SIGN UP TO RECEIVE BLOG UPDATES

About

David Murray writes on communication issues.
Read More

 

Categories

  • Baby Boots
  • Communication Philosophy
  • Efforts to Understand
  • Happy Men, and Other Eccentrics
  • Human Politicians
  • Mister Boring
  • Murray Cycle Diaries
  • Old Boots
  • Rambling, At Home and Abroad
  • Sports Stories
  • The Quotable Murr
  • Typewriter Truths
  • Uncategorized
  • Weird Scenes Inside the Archives

Archives

Copyright © 2023 · Log in

  • Preorder An Effort to Understand
  • Sign Up for Blog Updates
  • About David Murray