Peggy Noonan, who was there at the Revolution, don’t cha know, evidently wants to be there at the submission. Her new hero? Chuck Hagel. Yes, Chuck Hagel. The Republican in name only “maverick” who has had a love affair with the drive-by media since 2002.

I’ve suspected for quite some time that Noonan was moving leftward. That Noonan finds the words of Chuck Hagel courageous is, sadly, all the evidence I need to assign her to the likes of Andrew Sullivan and his fickle ilk.

Mr. Hagel has shown courage for a long time. He voted for the war resolution in 2002 but soon after began to question how it was being waged. This was before everyone did. He also stood against the war when that was a lonely place to be. Senate Democrats sat back and watched: If the war worked, they’d change the subject; and if it didn’t, they’d hang it on President Bush. Republicans did their version of inaction; they supported the president until he was unpopular, and then peeled off. This is almost not to be criticized. It’s what politicians do. But it’s not what Mr. Hagel did. He had guts.

Real gutsy, Peggy, to follow the conventional wisdom which is Blame Bush. Were you getting lonely? Need some party invitations? I wondered what Noonan would have to say about President Bush’s State of the Union address. She phoned in a before the state of the union address but has had nothing to say about the actual event. She’s into Hagel now. Hedging her bets I suppose.