Noonan about Rather

As one who was scandalized and disgusted by Ra^thergate, I was quite impressed by Peggy Noonan's gracious, illuminating, yet devastating retrospective in the Wall Street Journal (2 December 2004) entitled "The Education of Dan Rather."

Life is complicated, people are complicated, and most of us are a jumble of virtues, flaws and contradictions. I like to try to understand the past, try to put it together in a way that makes sense to me. This can involve judging not only your own actions and decisions but those of others, which can be hard. I have a friend who once said in the middle of a conversation, "Don't understand me too quickly." Don't categorize me; don't decide you broke the code. Sit back and watch; it's more interesting than you may know.

Beldar, on the other hand, isn't feeling quite so generous.