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May 13, 2006
McCain At Liberty
There has been considerable hoopla in recent weeks -- particularly in the blogoshpere -- over Arizona Senator John McCain's trip today to Jerry Falwell's Liberty University as that institution's graduation commencement speaker.
Many have wondered how McCain could stomach even being in Falwell's presence after the Good Reverend smeared him in the 2000 Republican presidential primary. But Senator McCain is clearly pondering another run for the White House in 2008 (when he will turn 72 years of age), and will need to earn the support of religious conservatives to have any chance of being the GOP's nominee.
The senator's new rapprochement with Falwell is part of what McCain critics perceive as an overall tack to the right, or at least pandering to the right, designed to improve his 2008 chances. EJ Dionne of the Washington Post penned probably the most widely read of these critiques a few months ago -- A Maverick No More?
So, under this context in went McCain to the Liberty lion's den. The oration was very interesting indeed.
The speech was basically a call for passionate, respectful debate -- a return to the idea of civil society that seems awfully distant these days. These two paragraphs capture the essence of his message:
"We have our disagreements, we Americans. We contend regularly and enthusiastically over many questions: over the size and purposes of our government; over the social responsibilities we accept in accord with the dictates of our conscience and our faithfulness to the God we pray to; over our role in the world and how to defend our security interests and values in places where they are threatened. These are important questions; worth arguing about. We should contend over them with one another. It is more than appropriate, it is necessary that even in times of crisis, especially in times of crisis, we fight among ourselves for the things we believe in. It is not just our right, but our civic and moral obligation."
and...
"Americans deserve more than tolerance from one another, we deserve each other’s respect, whether we think each other right or wrong in our views, as long as our character and our sincerity merit respect, and as long as we share, for all our differences, for all the noisy debates that enliven our politics, a mutual devotion to the sublime idea that this nation was conceived in – that freedom is the inalienable right of mankind, and in accord with the laws of nature and nature’s Creator."
McCain chose the Iraq War as his central topic worthy of debate, and did not shrink a bit from his support for the effort, arguing for the spread of freedom to the Middle East. (One question: how does one defend spreading freedom to others, when it is eroding day by day at home?)
But McCain also counseled the young graduates against glorifying war, using his own youthful vanity as example:
"When I was a young man, I thought glory was the highest attainment, and all glory was self-glory. My parents tried to teach me otherwise, as did my church, as did the Naval Academy. But I didn’t understand the lesson until later in life, when I confronted challenges I never expected to face."
We do not agree with Senator McCain on a host of issues, but had always admired his independent streak and willingness to buck the party line from time to time. We, too, have been dismayed at his apparent cozying up to the extremists of his party in recent months for future political gain.
Nonetheless, we agree with the central message of his speech at Liberty -- that open, spirited and respectful debate should be at the core of American civil society. We hope the Bush Administration was listening.
Posted by houtopia at May 13, 2006 11:23 AM