Peggy Noonan: Men in Their 40s Are Complete Drama Queens

Every Saturday morning the first thing I read in the Wall Street Journal is Peggy Noonan's column. I don't agree with her most of the time, but I love the way she writes, and it's fun dissecting the rhetorical devices she employs to make barbarous statements seem reasonable. Really, it's fascinating.

She wrote in a recent column a simple declarative sentence that is so concise you just want to immediately accept that it's true, and reasonable. This is THE key to Peggy Noonan. Writers and columnists can get away with making outrageous statements, as long as they make them quick and simple or employ beautiful language or a deft turn of phrase with just a kiss o' poetry. If they do this, people might not notice what they're actually saying. She employed this a lot while serving as a speechwriter for President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s.

She wrote recently about Barack Obama:

Is he experienced enough? No. He's not old enough either. Men in their 40s love drama too much. (source)

Men in their 40s love drama too much?

Might I remind Peggy that Republican hero Theodore Roosevelt was 42 when he assumed the presidency.

Theodore Roosevelt: Rugged environmentalist, rough rider ... and drama queen?

George W. Bush was in his 40s when he first reached political prominence as governor of Texas. And he was just a few years out of his 40s when the Supreme Court awarded Peggy Noonan's candidate the presidency over Al Gore on Dec. 11, 2000.

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Let's take a look at some prominent men in their 40s, all of whom presumably love drama too much and aren't suitable to be president:


Sean Hannity, 46. As a man in his 40s, he can't be president because he is a drama queen. He also can't be president because he is a complete idiot.



Stephen Colbert, 43. He, too, can't be president because he is (like all men in their 40s) a drama queen. He can't even get on the ballot in South Carolina.


Brian Williams, 48. Rock-steady anchor. Killer host of Saturday Night Live. Drama queen. Can't be president.


George Stephanopoulus, 46. Smart. Savvy. Drama-filled. Can't be president.


Roger Clemens, 45. Recently used 60 Minutes for drama-filled ragings against a man who stuck a needle in his butt. Can't be president.

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I'm clueless how 57-year-old Peggy Noonan could come up with or defend a statement so silly as, "Men in their 40s love drama too much."

Maybe it's because women in their 50s love drama too much.