McCain's Speech At Liberty U.
The Hotline's Emily Goodin posts this dispatch from Liberty University:
LYNCHBURG, Va. -- Friendship and forgiveness highlighted John McCain's address to graduates at Liberty University. It was a speech filled with tales of McCain's own graduation, the events in Iraq and the situation in Darfur. But it was the ending which was most poignant, and a subtle reminder of why McCain was at this Jerry Falwell-established university. He spoke of how people need to be "respectful of the goodness in each other." McCain: "I have not always heeded this injunction myself, and I regret it very much."
And as the Bible teaches through parable, so McCain delivered his lesson through the tale of his friendship with David Ifshin, a man he described as someone who "I might have considered my enemy." Ifshin protested the Vietnam War and traveled to Hanoi to criticize America's involvement in that country. His speech was broadcast to American prisoners of war, including John McCain. McCain: "I thought it a grievous wrong then, and I still do."
But, McCain added, years later, Ifshin had "an epiphany." He noted Ifshin realized that even though he still believed what he said years earlier, he realized he "let his criticism temporarily blind him to his country's generosity and the goodness that most Americans possess, and he regretted his failing deeply." When the two men met several years later, McCain said he "bore little animosity for anyone because of what they had done or not done during the Vietnam War." McCain: "I realized he had not been my enemy, but my countryman." He said they "moved beyond our old grievance" and while they "disagreed over much," they maintained a strong friendship. He concluded his tale by noting he spoke at Ifshin's funeral.
And speaking under the guise in the situation in Iraq, McCain noted people have the right to disagree with one another. McCain: "If an American feels the decision was unwise, then they should state their opposition, and argue for another course. It is your right and your obligation. I respect you for it. I would not respect you if you chose to ignore such an important responsibility."
He received a standing ovation from the 2,458 graduates in the standing-room only auditorium -- both after his speech and when he was introduced. And Falwell was gracious, saying of McCain: "We today pay tribute to a great American." However, McCain did not stay for the full ceremony, leaving as soon as he delivered his remarks. Falwell excused him, noting the senator had obligations in Utah.
[EMILY GOODIN]
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