Does Steve Bannon Have Something to Offer?
In 2014 the beleaguered White House aide raised important moral questions about today’s capitalism.

Peggy Noonan is an opinion columnist at the Wall Street Journal where her column, Declarations, has run since 2000. She was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 2017. She is the author of nine books on American politics, history and culture, from her most recent, “The Time of Our Lives,” to her first, “What I Saw at the Revolution.” She is one of ten historians and writers who contributed essays on the American presidency for the book, “Character Above All.” Noonan was a special assistant and speechwriter for President Ronald Reagan. In 2010 she was given the Award for Media Excellence by the living recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor; the following year she was chosen as Columnist of the Year by The Week. She has been a fellow at Harvard University’s Institute of Politics, and has taught in the history department at Yale University. Before entering the Reagan White House, Noonan was a producer and writer at CBS News in New York, and an adjunct professor of Journalism at New York University. She was born in Brooklyn, New York and grew up there, in Massapequa Park, Long Island, and in Rutherford, New Jersey. She is a graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson University in Rutherford. She lives in New York City. In November, 2016 she was named one of the city's Literary Lions by the New York Public Library.
In 2014 the beleaguered White House aide raised important moral questions about today’s capitalism.
Part of the problem is definitional. It isn’t just about houses, cars and material prosperity.
Crisis will inevitably strike, so America needs stability and strength. Will Trump be ready?
ObamaCare proved to be a catastrophic victory. The Republican plan had the makings of another one.
For health-care reform to succeed, it requires buy-in and compromise from both parties.
Like the Democrats in 2009, the majority party’s priorities aren’t responsive to the moment.
Trump’s speech was clear, plain, even warm at times. Could we be seeing a capacity to grow?
From the White House’s empty offices to overly giddy CPAC, everyone seems a little lost.
Trump is an unusual character. He’d benefit if his staff included some conventional ones.
He was present at the outset of the old order. His insights could help our leaders develop a new one.
He has overloaded all circuits. Everything is too charged, with sparks and small shocks all over.