The Corner

Can We Please All Agree

to leave RFK out of the 2008 presidential race? From AP

Obama, with a presidential campaign appealing to youth and emphasizing change, often evokes comparisons to the Kennedys, particularly Robert Kennedy and his 1968 bid for the White House.

Clad in a black academic robe, Obama received an honorary doctorate. Some of the graduates had stencils of Obama’s face and the word “hope” – a theme of his campaign – on their mortarboards.

Only briefly did Obama veer into campaign territory, rattling off a list of education changes he promised to make as president. The rest of the 25-minute speech urged students to focus on more than “the big house and the nice suits and all the other things that our money culture says you should buy.”

“At a time of war, we need you to work for peace,” Obama said. “At a time of inequality, we need you to work for opportunity. At a time of so much cynicism and so much doubt, we need you to make us believe again. That’s your task, Class of 2008.”

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