Peggy Noonan, an acclaimed presidential speechwriter and Pulitzer-winning columnist, speaks Friday at the 14th annual Westmont President’s Breakfast. 
The Westmont College Coir. 
After the Westmont Presidents Breakfast, Peggy Noonan participated in a question-and-answer session led by communications studies professor Deborah Dunn on the Westmont campus. 
One of the most well-known voices in American politics captivated the audience Friday at the Westmont President’s Breakfast.
More than 700 people attended the 14th annual event at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort to hear from Peggy Noonan, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and acclaimed presidential speechwriter for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. Her Wall Street Journal column, “Declarations,” has run since 2000.
The Westmont Foundation, businesses and individuals sponsored the gathering that brings the Christian liberal arts school in Montecito into the Santa Barbara community for two hours of promoting “a conversation about things that matter.” Bank of the West was the lead sponsor.
Noonan is the author of nine bestselling books on American politics, history and culture, including What I Saw at the Revolution: A Political Life in the Reagan Era and When Character Was King: A Story of Ronald Reagan.
Along with nine other writers and historians, Noonan contributed an essay on the American presidency to the book Character Above All.
Her newest book, The Time of Our Lives, recounts her career in journalism, the Reagan White House and the political arena.
As Reagan’s speechwriter and special assistant, Noonan worked with him on some of his most memorable speeches, such as his speech on the 40th anniversary of D-Day, his farewell address to the nation, and the Oval Office address he made on the day the space shuttle Challenger exploded in 1986. The latter is hailed as one of the 100 best speeches in American political history.
As a speechwriter, Noonan coined then-Vice President George H.W. Bush’s hallmark “a thousand points of light” and catchphrase “a kinder, gentler nation.”
Noonan received the Award for Media Excellence from the living recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor in 2010, The Week honored her as Columnist of the Year, and in 2016, the New York Public Library named her one of the city’s Literary Lions.
She is a fellow at Harvard University’s Institute of Politics and has taught in the history department at Yale University.
Noonan earned the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary for “rising to the moment with beautifully rendered columns that connected readers to the shared virtues of Americans during one of the nation’s most divisive political campaigns.”
At the Westmont President’s Breakfast, she offered jokes and shared experiences of working with Reagan, Bush and fellow former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, as well as President Donald Trump.
“I have interviewed or talked to or dined with at least six of the last six presidents,” Noonan said. “I have worked for two of them. I have watched them close. I think about presidents a lot, and it has struck me that each of them could have learned something important, something that would have benefited them to learn from their predecessor.
“As I look at these landscapes of these men — soon enough we will be saying men and women — but, as I look at these landscapes of presidential men, I’m so aware that historical reputations fluctuate.”
Of Obama, Noonan noted that “more than any president I have seen, (he) proceeded without self-doubt. I don’t think we ever saw his confidence falter, and I don’t know how to interpret that. Every other president I have seen had moments of severe self-doubt.”
Before introducing Noonan, Westmont President Gayle Beebe spoke of her legacy and career, and he presented her with the Westmont Leadership Award. The award honors exemplary leaders known for both their competence and character, and for providing inspiring examples of the kind of people Westmont hopes to cultivate among its students.
Beebe also highlighted some of Westmont’s programs, such as the Augustinian Scholars and its off-campus space along West Anapamu Street in downtown Santa Barbara, as well as multiple faculty at the college and alumni.
“We know that up and down the Central Coast, more than 1,000 businesses and organizations benefit from the presence of our alumni, who work day in and day out to build great organizations, and to manage profitable businesses that not only contribute to the welfare of our community, but bring personal fulfillment to the thousands of lives that these businesses and organizations help,” he said.
The event included an appearance from the Westmont College Choir, which was conducted by Michael Shashberger and accompanied by Neil Di Maggio on the piano.
Pastor Tommy Schneider of Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara gave the invocation. Westmont Foundation board member John Davies, the chairman of the event, welcomed the guests.
After the breakfast, Noonan was whisked away to the Westmont campus, where she addressed students and faculty and participated in a panel discussion on leadership.
Noonan joins an impressive list of speakers, including Gen. Michael Hayden, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, political and cultural commentator David Brooks, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin, historian David McCullough, social entrepreneur Muhammad Yunus, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, international television news host Fareed Zakaria, journalist Thomas Friedman and others.
This year’s gold sponsors were Canterbury Consulting, Davies Public Affairs, HUB International of California, La Arcada Investment Corp., Jo and Carl Lindros (Santa Barbara Securities), MATT Construction, Laurie and Lindsay Parton, Santa Barbara Capital (Anna and David Grotenhuis, and Sharol and Wayne Siemens), Mary Lynn and Warren Staley, and Monique and Peter Thorrington.
— Noozhawk staff writer Brooke Holland can be reached at bholland@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
