The View from Section 6

As J-Mad wrote yesterday, President Barack Obama delivered the keynote address at the University of Michigan's spring commencement. The speech was characteristically level-headed and reasonable. Obama acknowledged that he and his opponents have legitimate disagreements, while simultaneously asserting and rationalizing that some went too far. Obama also deftly gave a political speech that was still relevant to the graduates.

(Sorry, Bryan Flory, but the overarching theme of the speech was how to maintain our republic, which is relevant to every American and seems appropriate for a commencement. I will agree, however, that Governor Granholm's speech, which was basically "Thank you, Mr. President, for (fill in the blank)" x 10, was almost completely irrelevant to the graduates. The only part that was relevant was when she said, "Thank you for coming here instead of that school to the south.")

There were two points of Obama's speech that I especially liked. First, he rejected the false dichotomy between complete liberty and total tyranny. He pointed out the aspects of government that everyone, especially the limited-government zealots, takes for granted: public high schools and universities, roads and highways, police and firefighters, safety standards, etc. And he articulated his view of the role government should play: "Government shouldn’t try to guarantee results, but it should guarantee a shot at opportunity for every American who’s willing to work hard."

Secondly, Obama advised the graduates on what they--and all of us--should do to maintain our republic: Don't vilify others simply because you disagree with them. Expose yourself to a diverse group of people and a diverse group of opinions. (Both of which I will attempt to do on this blog and in my personal life.)

Marine One leaves Ann Arbor.

With Barack Obama, the University of Michigan has set a high bar for commencement speakers that frankly cannot be surpassed. But on behalf of the Class of 2011, may I say, "Jon Stewart, please!"