Obama Commencement Thread

Submitted by Michigan Arrogance on
Commencement will be televised on Fox2 and Ch4 locally. Fox coverage begins at 10am, Ch4 at 11am. So far I ahven't seen any TV listings for MSU's commencement next week.

M-Wolverine

May 2nd, 2010 at 3:42 PM ^

C'MON OBAMA, HAIL OBAMA, HAIL!!! ;-)

 

Edit:  I don't mind the negs, because it wasn't clear, obviously, but for the record - I wasn't asking people to "politically Hail Obama"...I just wanted him to lift his arm like 80,000 people around him were during the Victors...he's smart enough to figure it out.  But it was a little tongue in cheek.  And supposed to be funnier at the time it was posted, right when they played the Victors.  Doesn't translate into the future so well, I can see.  Just didn't want to give the idea that I was edging the no politics rule (cause I'm fully behind that one).

bigmc6000

May 1st, 2010 at 3:10 PM ^

College football doesn't start until Michigan says it does! :)  (Although, I have to admit, if OSU lost to Marshall on that Thursday I'd accept that as the start to the football season :)

 

EDIT: Seriously?  I'm getting negged for being bummed that the speech wasn't non-political?  Really? Ok, whatever...

Needs

May 1st, 2010 at 3:23 PM ^

I think you're getting negged on the notion that it's possible for the president to give a non-political speech. What could he talk about that would be non-political? The fact that it's the President giving the speech makes it inherently political.

bigmc6000

May 1st, 2010 at 3:28 PM ^

He is a person just like you and I (in the sense that he's human in in terms of being the leader of the free world).  We have a great many differing views about politics on this site and with very rare exception does it get brought up.  I'd say that at least a few people on this board are just as passionate about politics as he is but they don't talk about it.

 

Yeah, maybe it was a pipe dream but I can "hope" right? ;)

ZooWolverine

May 1st, 2010 at 11:59 PM ^

Maybe.  But really, probably not.  Also, this site is about Michigan athletics and has a strict rule about no politics.  The graduation speaker was chosen because he is an extremely successful politician.  That he should completely avoid talking about politics is a little ridiculous.  When Larry Page came, we wouldn't have been happy with a Google advertisement, but it also would have been a little strange had he not mentioned Google.

I think Obama did a good job of the balancing act--he talked about politics because that's what he does and he has important opinions about it--without getting preachy or one-sided and while still directing his comments at the graduates and at how they can create a better world.

And as a counterpoint to the whole idea that the sitting president should generally avoid politics, I think it's pretty cool that Johnson announced his "Great Society" at a University of Michigan commencement.

Clarence Beeks

May 3rd, 2010 at 12:10 PM ^

I completely disagree.  The President should be expected to be above partisan politics, especially in a setting such as a commencement address, and I would say this no matter who the President is or what party they are a member of.  It's not about politics.  There are a lot of different ways that he could have made the points that he did without being blatantly partisan.  One of my several commencement speakers was a highly partisian politician who gave a phenomenal and non-political commencement address.

UMWest22

May 1st, 2010 at 3:12 PM ^

the fact that so many people left immediately following Obama's speech was utterly classless.  I understand that a lot went to see the president, but I wish that more people would have shown a little more respect for the graduates, as the day was for them.

Bando Calrissian

May 1st, 2010 at 3:23 PM ^

And while his speech was cool enough, the best part of the whole thing for me was the commissioning of the ROTC students.  I'm not normally one for military stuff, but that was moving beyond belief.

All those people missed that.  Shame.

Other Chris

May 1st, 2010 at 4:01 PM ^

And this was not the place. Whoever on her staff didn't tell her to turn it around and talk about these Michigan businesses in the context of addressing the graduates with these Michigan work and research opportunities was as bad as whoever let ND post that embarrassing video.

Life inside the echo chamber.....