May 21, 2007

Commencement Roundup: Two Heads Are Better Than One

While Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush were busy butting heads over the weekend, former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton were making nice (again). The two appeared together at the University of New Hampshire's class of 2007 commencement, talking about their "common humanity" and the benefits of "transcending politics." Now if only Jimmy and Dubya could get along so well...

The former presidents at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, N.H.: "All you have to do is care, roll up your sleeves and claim one of society's problems as your own." -- Bush. "Thank you Madam President Newman. I like the sound of that. I've decided that women should run everything, and George and I can play more golf." -- Clinton.

ABC News' Bob Woodruff with his wife, Lee, at Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y.: "I wish I could protect all of you from the ups and downs of life, from the bends in the road to come. At your age I think I believed that life traveled pretty much in a straight line. If I was a decent person, and worked hard, I would be rewarded. But life wouldn't be life if it didn't have some curve balls in store."

Defense Secretary Robert Gates at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.: "When talking about American democracy, we hear a great deal about freedoms, and rights, and, more recently, about the entitlements of citizenship. We hear a good deal less about the duties and responsibilities of being an American."

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, N.H.: "There’s a lot of talk in this country about the federal deficit. But I think we should talk more about our empathy deficit -- the ability to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes; to see the world through those who are different from us -- the child who’s hungry, the laid-off steelworker, the immigrant woman cleaning your dorm room."

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va.: "To his great credit," university founder Jerry Falwell "decided to step forward publicly and counter the outrageous intolerance of the secular absolutists.... Jerry Falwell’s heart 'was burning to serve Christ' in this way. And because of his courage, America is not the same."

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg at Tufts University in Medford, Mass.: "I’ve always wondered if people who block each other from expressing their opinions do so because they have so little confidence in their own. To me, encountering an opposing point of view is a chance to gain a deeper understanding of the issues at stake... and develop my own point of view. But the first thing you’ve got to do is you’ve got to let people speak and you’ve got to listen."

(Photo Courtesy Of UNH Photo Services)

Posted at 1:00 PM
Posted to: Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, Media, Newt Gingrich, Robert Gates
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