Peggy Noonan's Mind, Exposed Again

We were on to Peggy Noonan before she even started her IOP study group, when we reported on her hilarious syllabus, frequent misspellings and all.

Now, thanks to a tipster for Gawker, we can peer deeper than ever inside the inner machinations of Noonan’s complicated mind. These study groups are supposed to be off the record, but apparently the vultures in other parts of the blogosphere could not obey the rules. However, we straight-laced Harvard journalists are more than happy to share their illicit reporting.

Peep some of the more savory quotes and episodes after the jump.

Here’s how Gawker’s tipster found Noonan: “A couple of times she spit onto her brown vest and pretended it didn't happen…After she completed a thought, she'd pause and smile, staring at the air in front of her, reflecting on her impeccable delivery and overreaching wisdom. She used baseball metaphors more than twice.”

Some choice selections from the tipster (in fairness to Noonan—how much did those unscrupulous folks at Gawker massage this stuff?):

"I'm not a brain surgeon. You have to be a professional. I did my best and I didn't kill anybody. I can't remember what the point of my answer is."

"My study group is about being a person who thinks things and believes them and turns them into words that convey thoughts and feelings."

"I wasn't sure I could wear mascara every day. One should dress. One should wear mascara when one can."

"I wasn't sure I could stay awake all day. This is one of the major stresses of life—making sure you can stay awake all day. I happen to think sleep is one of the most important things in life. Trying to wake up, trying to fall asleep. I don't know why I'm talking about this."

"It's not a faux pas to love your country. Its history. Its traditions. Love it. Bring that love into the world. Share it and the world looks at you and says, ‘Oh, I get it!'"

"You Have To Let Your Freak Flag Fly."

Photo courtesy Happyme22/Wikimedia Commons