Peggy Noonan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Peggy Noonan
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Noonan in 2016
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Margaret Ellen Noonan
September 7, 1950 New York City, New York, U.S.
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| Education | Fairleigh Dickinson University (BA) |
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| Political party | Republican |
Peggy Noonan is a well-known American writer and political commentator. She writes a weekly column for The Wall Street Journal and also shares her thoughts on NBC News and ABC News. She was a main speechwriter for President Ronald Reagan from 1984 to 1986. After working for President Reagan, she continued to write about politics from a right-leaning point of view. Many of her books have become New York Times bestsellers. Peggy Noonan was even nominated for an Emmy Award for her work on a special TV show called America: A Tribute to Heroes.
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Early Life and Career Beginnings
Peggy Noonan was born on September 7, 1950, in Brooklyn, New York. Her father was a merchant seaman, and her family has Irish roots. She went to Rutherford High School in Rutherford, New Jersey. Later, she studied at Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Before working in politics, Noonan wrote daily commentaries for anchorman Dan Rather at CBS News. She also worked as a newswriter at WEEI Radio in Boston from 1975 to 1977. She later became the Editorial and Public Affairs Director there. In 1978 and 1979, she taught journalism at New York University.
Working as a Speechwriter
In 1984, Peggy Noonan became a speechwriter for President Ronald Reagan. She wrote his famous "The boys of Pointe du Hoc" speech. This speech was given on the 40th anniversary of D-Day, a very important day in World War II.
She also wrote President Reagan's speech after the sad Challenger disaster. For this speech, she used words from a poem by John Gillespie Magee Jr.. He wrote about aviators who "slipped the surly bonds of earth ... and touched the face of God." This speech is considered one of the best American political speeches of the 20th century.
Noonan also helped write a tribute speech for President John F. Kennedy. This was for an event in 1984. Later, she worked for then-Vice President George H. W. Bush during his 1988 presidential campaign. She created two memorable phrases for him: "a kinder, gentler nation" and "a thousand points of light."
She also wrote Bush's acceptance speech at the 1988 Republican National Convention. In this speech, he famously promised, "Read my lips: no new taxes." When Bush later changed his mind about this promise, it was a big reason he lost his re-election campaign in 1992. In 1995, Noonan received the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement.
Later Career and Writing
After her time as a speechwriter, Noonan worked as a consultant for the TV show The West Wing. In 2003, she supported the US invasion of Iraq. In 2004, she took a short break from The Wall Street Journal to help with George W. Bush's re-election campaign. She was also a founding member of a website called wowOwow.com, which is now closed.
During the 2008 presidential campaign, Noonan wrote about Sarah Palin's run for Vice President. In one article, Noonan shared her opinion that Palin did not show the skills or knowledge needed for a high office. She felt Palin's candidacy made American politics less serious.
Peggy Noonan's weekly column for The Wall Street Journal is called "Declarations." It has been running since 2000. She also appears regularly on NBC's Meet the Press. In 2017, Noonan won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. She received this award for her columns that helped readers connect with shared American values during a very divided political time.
Personal Life
In November 1985, Peggy Noonan married Richard W. Rahn. He was the chief economist at the US Chamber of Commerce. Their son, Will, was born in 1987. Noonan and her husband divorced after five years. In 1989, she moved back to New York with her son. In 2004, she lived in Brooklyn Heights with her son, who attended Saint Ann's School.
Today, Noonan lives in Manhattan. She is a practicing Catholic and attends St. Thomas More Church. Since the late 2010s, Noonan has moved away from the Republican Party because of Donald Trump. In both the 2016 and 2020 elections, she chose not to vote for Trump or his Democratic opponent. In the 2020 presidential election, she wrote in the name of an 18th-century political thinker, Edmund Burke.
Books Written by Peggy Noonan
- 1990: What I Saw at the Revolution: A Political Life in the Reagan Era (ISBN: 0-8129-6989-8)
- 1994: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness (ISBN: 1-55850-509-1)
- 1998: Simply Speaking: How to Communicate Your Ideas With Style, Substance, and Clarity (ISBN: 0-7881-6775-8) (Also published as On Speaking Well)
- 1999: Character Above All (ISBN: 0-684-82709-3) (one chapter in a collection of writings)
- 2000: The Case Against Hillary Clinton (ISBN: 0-06-039340-8)
- 2001: When Character Was King: A Story of Ronald Reagan (ISBN: 0-14-200168-6)
- 2003: A Heart, A Cross And A Flag (ISBN: 0-7432-5005-2)
- 2005: John Paul The Great: Remembering a Spiritual Father (ISBN: 0-670-03748-6)
- 2008: Patriotic Grace: What It Is and Why We Need It Now (ISBN: 978-0-06-173582-0)
- 2015: The Time of Our Lives: Collected Writings (ISBN: 978-1-45-556313-5)
- 2024: A Certain Idea of America: Selected Writings (ISBN: 978-0593854778)
