Librado Romero/The New York Times
Senator John McCain delivers commencement speech during The New Schools ceremony at Madison
Square Garden. Students holding leaflets and turning backs during McCain's address.
Posted on 05/20/2006 3:27:36 AM PDT by Pharmboy
Librado Romero/The New York Times
Senator John McCain delivers commencement speech during The New Schools ceremony at Madison
Square Garden. Students holding leaflets and turning backs during McCain's address.
Librado Romero/The New York Times
Senator John McCain, the keynote
speaker at the New School University
graduation, was received with jeers,
boos and insults.
The jeers, boos and insults flew, as caustic as any that angry New Yorkers have hurled inside Madison Square Garden. The objects of derision yesterday, however, were not the hapless New York Knicks, but Senator John McCain, the keynote speaker at the New School graduation, and his host, Bob Kerrey, the university president.
No sooner had Mr. Kerrey welcomed the audience to the university's 70th commencement than the hoots began to rise through the Theater at Madison Square Garden. Several graduates held up a banner aimed at Mr. McCain, an Arizona Republican and likely 2008 presidential candidate, declaring: "Our commencement is not your platform." Other students and faculty members waved orange fliers with the same message.
Mr. Kerrey, a former Democratic senator from Nebraska, was unapologetic yesterday about inviting Mr. McCain, his friend and fellow Vietnam War veteran, to speak. He noted early in his welcoming remarks that there had been intense media coverage of Mr. McCain's graduation speech last week at Liberty University, headed by the Rev. Jerry Falwell, in which Mr. McCain strongly defended the Iraq war.
"Many predicted that his speech today would not receive as friendly a reception," Mr. Kerrey said. "The expectation is that — and that expectation has already been realized — that some of you in this audience will act up to protest the senator's appearance."
The first student speaker, Jean Sara Rohe, 21, said she had discarded her original remarks to talk about Mr. McCain.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
To be honest, what would happen if Hillary were to speak at Bob Jones? Not that it would ever happen, but suppose it did through some tragic accumulation of computer errors? Hilarity would not ensue.
McCain gets this; Condy gets protests and Jodie Foster gets a standing "O"...So much for "education".
When middle-America sees the nutcases that define a big chunk of the Left in America today, they run away in shock.
Who did they have to bring in to write the words on their signs for them?
For champions of "diversity" especially.
They just don't see how their agenda tramples on others, diminishing diversity, when they don't agree with their way of seeing things.
It's scary when you realize that homogenous thought control is the tool of dictators. Free press and respect for open discourse; these are the hallmarks of a democracy. So these spoiled kids try to censure opinions but end up showing disrepect for a US Senator.
Another irony is that this would happen to McCain. He prides himself as being the darling of middle ground. Now he finds himself being hated by BOTH sides, the conservatives and the libs. It has to be confusing to him.
I know that it is, after all, John McCain, but I still think he deserved better treatment from these people.
Even a wishy washy Republican like McCain who agrees with Democrats on some major issues angers leftists. And that is Bush's problem, he does too much to try to satisfy leftists, when in reality nothing but a total surrender will satisfy them.
Its the wrong diversity, Thirsty.
Liberals and conservatives hate him. Boy, his campaign's off to a great start!
if they bomb NY again, should we care?
What you see are two Vietnam war vets loudly being labled war criminals. They shouted the same thing at Kerrey. Shameful manners, shameful attitudes.
Shouting "It's about me, not about you" at a person whose had the experiences and accomplishments of these two men, is just about perfect, don't you think?
could not have happened to a nicer person, one who backed kerry and turned their backs on our POW's, back stabbed Dubya at every opportunity; brown nosed with the likes of "the beast",biden,kennedy and smeared the Swifties, he will never be president hopefully.
He united the country ... against him
They wouldn't be satisfied with total surrender. They would want to put everyone who has surrendered into reeducation camps, and if they don't change their thinking, work them to death.
Rudeness of all degrees--for the "good cause"--is encouraged by lefty leaders. Just another example of everyone else's rules not applying to the left.
Beauty.
That was way out of line.
As much as I dislike John McCain and his political crap, I still must agree with you that the reception he received at the New School was way out of bounds. Someone should tell the professors and students there the differences between being a protestor and a P.O.S. are vast, but somehow they managed to do both at the same time.
I am not a McCain support, but I think the students should not insult or jeer him during graduation. If they don't like what he is saying, they should not clap at the end. Holding signs and chanting insults is not appropriate for a graduation ceremony.
Faculty members were participating and most likely encouraging the students to show such great disrespect. That is just wrong!!!
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