Granted, Peggy Noonan can be counted upon to regularly represent the least coherent element of the G.O.P. faithful. But this attempt to do a little damage control in the aftermath of Tuesday night's press conference is revealing -- not that Noonan's a bad writer, but that the mainstream conservatives are getting close to the bottom of the barrel when looking for an argument to back their man. Complaining that the press questions were too tough for the poor Prezzie is a questionable means of convincing the country that Bush is really up to the job. And whining about how democratic inquiry ought to shut its yap during "wartime" was a massively successful, if noxious, P.R. strategy two years ago, but there's a problem with running a con on this big a collection of suckers. You can't run the same game twice: not every reporter is that dependable a mark. One might suspect that Noonan doesn't have a lot of friends in the non-pundit-class media world -- otherwise, it would follow that she'd have noticed some signs of the growing won't-get-burned-again attitude.

The kicker:

More and more it seems to me Mr. Bush is not only Bill Clinton's successor but his exact opposite: Mr. Clinton perfectly poised and hollow inside, a man whose lack of compass left him unable to lead within the Oval Office but who gave a compelling public presentation of the presidency, and Mr. Bush a strong president with an obvious soul, decisive at the desk, but with no dazzling edifice. It's actually amazing that two such different men came so close together.

So, this is the heat that the fabled Wall Street Journal op-ed page is bringing. "Bush can't really explain himself well, but just look at that obvious soul!" If this is the best pitching that the conservative pundit bullpen can offer, one hopes that Kerry will start swinging at these big, fat meatballs.