The Democrats had long labeled the impeachment debate a distraction from the urgent business of a great nation. But the Republicans argued that the pursuit of justice is the business of a great nation. In winning this point, they caught the falling flag, producing a triumph for the rule of law, a reassertion of the belief that no man is above it, and a rebuke for an arrogance that had grown imperial.
Peggy NoonanThis is the Democratic paradox: You want so much to run America and yet you seem not so fond of Americans.
Peggy NoonanThe core of the concept of a bribe is an inducement improperly influencing the performance of a public function meant to be gratuitously exercised.
Peggy NoonanDon't fall in love with politicians, they're all a disappointment. They can't help it, they just are.
Peggy Noonanone way to keep people close to you is by not giving them enough. ... with people who give a lot of themselves, you sometimes lean back - but with people who give little you often lean forward, as if they're a spigot in the desert and you're the empty cup. It is the tropism of deprivation: We lean toward those who do not give.
Peggy Noonan