A moment with Peggy Noonan

The gifted political speechwriter Peggy Noonan has always been quick on her feet.

During the 1992 presidential campaign, N4N heard her speak to a college audience in another state. During the Q&A, I asked how it felt to be going back to work for George H.W. Bush after he had violated one of her most memorable lines --  "Read my lips: no new taxes."

The crowd murmured at the directness of the question, but Noonan was unruffled. Rather than answer, she turned the query around by asking, in effect, who might be a better candidate than her guy.

Noonan efforts to wriggle out of her disparagement of Sarah Palin, though, are a bit more complicated.