Posted on 05/20/2006 2:26:25 PM PDT by SandRat
NEW YORK -- Arizona Sen. John McCain received a cantankerous reception during his appearance at the New School commencement Friday, where dozens of faculty members and students turned their backs and raised signs in protest and a distinguished student speaker pointedly mocked him as he sat silently nearby.
The historically liberal university has been roiled in controversy in recent weeks over the selection of McCain, a conservative Republican and likely 2008 presidential candidate, to deliver the commencement address.
Some 1,200 students and faculty signed petitions asking the university president, former Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey, to rescind the invitation. Petitioners said McCain's support for the Iraq war and opposition to gay rights and legal abortion do not keep with the prevailing views on campus.
Kerrey, a Democrat who served in the Senate with McCain and, like McCain, is a decorated Vietnam War veteran, addressed the controversy almost immediately after the 2,700 graduates and thousands of other parents and friends filed into Madison Square Garden for the ceremony.
"Sen. McCain, you have much to teach us," Kerrey said to a smattering of boos and hisses. He urged students to exercise the open-mindedness he said was at the heart of the university's progressive history.
But Kerrey's remarks were immediately overshadowed by those of Jean Sara Rohe, one of two distinguished seniors invited by the university's deans to address the graduates.
Beginning by singing a wistful folk tune calling for world peace, Rohe announced she had thrown out her prepared remarks to address the McCain controversy directly.
"The senator does not reflect the ideals upon which this university was founded," Rohe proclaimed to loud cheers, with McCain sitting just a few feet away.
She added that she knew what McCain would be saying to the graduates since he had promised to deliver the same speech he gave at Rev. Jerry Falwell's Liberty University last weekend and Columbia University on Tuesday.
"He will tell us we are young and too naive to have valid opinions," Rohe said. "I am young and though I don't possess the wisdom that time affords us, I do know that pre-emptive war is dangerous. And I know that despite all the havoc that my country has wrought overseas in my name, Osama bin Laden still has not been found, nor have those weapons of mass destruction."
Indeed, it was McCain's decision to address Liberty that set off the protests at the New School during the past several weeks.
Known for his maverick streak, McCain as a 2000 presidential candidate famously called Falwell one of the "agents of intolerance" hurting the Republican party. But recently, as McCain has begun laying the groundwork for another White House bid, he has sought to shore up his conservative credentials.
McCain later thanked Rohe for her "Cliff's notes" version of his speech, and then, as expected, delivered remarks that were nearly identical to his earlier appearances.
He reaffirmed his support for the Iraq war but urged debate and dissent. And he repeated the theme of youthful self-assuredness mocked just moments before by Rohe.
"When I was a young man, I was quite infatuated with self-expression, and rightly so because, if memory conveniently serves, I was so much more eloquent, well-informed and wiser than anyone else I knew," McCain said. He added that he would have been right at home in the opinionated world of blogs.
As he spoke, several dozen students and faculty turned their backs to him and lifted signs saying "Our commencement is not your platform."
A few students yelled catcalls at McCain, saying things like "full of it," and "We're graduating, not voting."
Kerrey later retook the stage to praise McCain and Rohe's speeches as "two acts of bravery," while suggesting the hecklers weren't nearly as courageous as those who took the stage.
"Will you stand and say what you believe when you know that heckling and loudness and boos will arise?" Kerrey asked.
McCain's top political adviser, John Weaver, said the protests were "not unexpected." But he dismissed suggestions that the specter of liberal New York college students heckling McCain would enhance the senator's standing among conservative voters.
"It's not uncommon on a liberal campus that free speech is a theory in the classroom only," Weaver said.
Excellent judgement - He gets attacked by the leftoid nuts, he gains conservative credentials.
No, this was exactly the response he wanted - in hopes that we'd think he's a *real* conservative.
Shoot, by comparison to these goofballs, Li'l Chuckie Schumer is a "conservative!"
Thats not what the spin will be - its going to come across as guts to go into the den of ones enemies.
The reason he is considered a contender, by the MSM..and polls, is because of that disgusting saying that Senators are always using against President Bush..
that he is a "divider, not a uniter"...which means that they expect McCain to be so in the middle that this country will go down the drain, but with happy people...blech.
McCain is no better than Gore or Kerry would have been as POTUS...
" What exactly did McCain think would happen anyway....
Lack of judgement on his part for even accepting."
Well, he can play tapes to Conservative audiences of the liberal students booing him. Maybe he thinks it will give him some Conservative credentials (how he stood up to the Libs).
True.
Not to worry where Johnny is concerned. The Conservatives vote in, and are active in, the Primary process. He will not get the GOP nod; trust me.
Apparently it wasn't just students acting like asses, but some of the faculty as well. If I was a parent and knew about the immature, and disrespectful display by the faculty I would immediately cross this school off of any list that I would be willing to pay tuition to for my kids.
The reason why so many college kids are brain dead liberal robots, is because the teachers their parents pay are brain dead liberal robots.
You leave out the likelihood that the parents may be brain dead liberal robots as well. In this case that may describe the majority, few go to that school without knowing its reputation.
The New School is really one of the most liberal schools in the Country...lots of art students...I don't know know why he even cared to speak there.
Wow man!...That was uh, cool!"
'nuff said.
FMCDH(BITS) (see tagline for further thoughts)
Probably the Vietnam vet offering a campaign speech opportunity to another Vietnam vet.
They are both pretty much the same politically...wishy washy!
C'mon Hildy, you ain't no spring chicken around here....Why do you think he spoke at Falwell's gig?
He's a phony like 99% of the rest of our gubbmint. If he is the pub nomination for 08 he isn't getting my vote. Be sure of that. I'm tired of phonies on both "sides of the aisle" and I truly believe nothing will change as long as we support this bread&circuses smoke and mirrors sham that used to be a REPUBLIC with our taxes.
Y'all better wake up to what's around the corner....
FMCDH(BITS)
You know if the democrats in congress would just shut up and turn their backs every time a debate breaks out the Republicans could get a lot more done.
So you think this plays well to Conservatives?
I couldn't agree more, though it is humor at it's most ironic that this is the only method his campaign chairman could come up with to establish some credentials :).
An aside note possibly worth pondering....Bob Kerrey brought McPasty to a school he is now president of. He couldn't control the crowd, they acted shamfully and embarrased him in front of a former peer.
I can't help but wonder if a seed has been placed that will gnaw on him through his new career as being part of the problem that promoted and caused such degradation in the attitudes of Americas young adults.
I think that school is considerably more liberal than he is, if I remember right, he was supposed to be somewhat of a moderate-not 100% sure though.
Hard to know who to cheer for in this fight. But I must say that at point in history did the commencement speaker 'represent the views of the university' or other similar nonsense? Or are just admitting that their school has a social agenda and those who aren't anti-military, anti-life, anti-christian, anti-family, anti-democracy should just stay the hell out of NYC?
Kind of hard to feel sorry for McCookburger.
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