339 Did these interviews and conversations really happen

or is it the author’s way to get her message out? Peggy Noonan in a Wall Street Journal article May 20 (here with free sign-up) records a conversation with a suburban, female fence sitter--sometimes she votes Republican, sometimes Democrat, and she appears to be luke-warm on Dubya. This voter, whom Noonan calls Anna, was very influenced by the era in which she became an adult--when Vietnam protests were flooding the news. She doesn’t believe any war is worthwhile, unless maybe the enemy were invading Long Island, then perhaps we should fight. (I’m thinking, Are there voters that naïve?) I don’t know. Perhaps there was a real conversation, or perhaps Noonan has created a composite to get her point across. I learned at a recent writer’s conference that this is not considered unethical in memoir and non-fiction writing.

Based on Anna’s politics, which include musings on her adult children and grandchildren, Ms. Noonan concludes:

“If I were George W. Bush I might be thinking that down the road but not too far down, it might be a good idea to start making clear two things. One, why I am indispensable--a delicate thing to communicate, but something re-elected incumbents always have to get across sooner or later. "I am leading us in the right direction and my work is just begun." And the other is to make the case that a Kerry presidency would not be a lunge toward greater stability, that it would not be a "return to normalcy," that Mr. Kerry wouldn't right things but make them worse, bringing more trouble.

A one-two punch: If you stand with me, I'll get the peace and prosperity we seek; and if you go for him it will make the world less safe and the country less healthy.”

Couldn’t she find a Republican to interview who wants George W. Bush to return to traditional conservative, fiscally responsible policies instead of spending money like a drunken Democrat? That might make some waffling Republicans take notice. After all, I have opinions about my neighborhood and my adult children she could work into the story.