His flaws are legion. But between intermittent downpours, the man showed he still can raise the people up, even ones beaten down by the incessant noise and the grammarless stupidity of the current White House resident. He eloquently called the graduates to public service, to hard work, and to lives of possibility – all without using a single notecard.
“As long as we believe our common humanity is most important, as long as we understand that diverse groups make better decisions than homogenous ones or lone geniuses, as long as we realize the great thing about life is not final victories and the great tragedy is not final defeats—there aren’t any final victories or final defeats…but a life of permanent possibility.” HWS graduation, May 2017
Yep 42 was the speaker for Duncan’s graduation. There were many Clinton connections on campus because the then college president was WH Comm Director for Clinton, and also the head of Peace Corps. Duncan’s classmate was the daughter of Mary Matalin and James Carvelle, so they were on a lively panel discussion for Parent’s weekend. I miss going to HWS. Loved Geneva, the lake, the wines.
It’s true. I’ve been riveted by his speeches. By other stuff, not so much. BTW, my oldest stepdaughter went to HWS—and then Rutgers, and then Harvard Law. That was a long time ago. (She’s only 12 years younger than I.) Geneva was a beautiful area.
I really liked Clinton, despite his flaws. You are lucky that you got to see him. We got Michelle Obama for my son’s graduation from Oberlin which was great, but the security was awful.
Is that where your older son went? Was 42 really the commencement speaker? I think my next-door neighbor may be going there next year…
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Yep 42 was the speaker for Duncan’s graduation. There were many Clinton connections on campus because the then college president was WH Comm Director for Clinton, and also the head of Peace Corps. Duncan’s classmate was the daughter of Mary Matalin and James Carvelle, so they were on a lively panel discussion for Parent’s weekend. I miss going to HWS. Loved Geneva, the lake, the wines.
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Eloquence. Service. Hope. How fabulous to have been there.
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It’s true. I’ve been riveted by his speeches. By other stuff, not so much. BTW, my oldest stepdaughter went to HWS—and then Rutgers, and then Harvard Law. That was a long time ago. (She’s only 12 years younger than I.) Geneva was a beautiful area.
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“diverse groups make better decisions than homogenous ones or lone geniuses”
You just know the original draft was, “diverse groups make better decisions than homogenous ones or stable geniuses”
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I really liked Clinton, despite his flaws. You are lucky that you got to see him. We got Michelle Obama for my son’s graduation from Oberlin which was great, but the security was awful.
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