Things that make you go hmm: Peggy Noonan claiming President Bush is “not trying to polarize:

Pundits and historians call Mr. Bush polarizing–and he is, but in some unusual ways. For one thing, he’s not trying to polarize. He is not saying, “My team is for less government, your team is for more–my team, stand with me!”

Mr. Bush has muddied what his team stands for. He has made it all come down to him–not to philosophy but to him and his certitudes.

What is polarizing about him is the response he elicits from Americans just by being himself. They have deep questions about him, even as he is vivid to them.

It’s true that Bush isn’t trying to polarize voters on the issue of the size of government (he’s implicitly conceded that debate). But he and his party are saying that the GOP will protect America while suggesting Democrats “are willing to wave the white flag of surrender”, which is a far more polarizing claim in the current environment. This argument doesn’t pass the laugh test.