Students Stand Up to McCain

Last week Senator John McCain – the "moderate" darling of the US and German press – took his message of war to right-wing evangelical Liberty University, where it was warmly received.  Yesterday, that message did not go over so well with the students of the New School in New York City. The New School has its roots in the University in Exile which was a refuge for Jewish and anti-Nazi intellectuals from the Weimar Republic. Unlike the southern "Christian" colleges, which instill a blind obedience to authority in students, the New School celebrates critical thinking and dissent. John McCain got plenty of that from the angry students:

The first student speaker, Jean Sara Rohe, 21, said she had discarded her original remarks to talk about Mr. McCain.

"The senator does not reflect the ideals upon which this university was founded," she said, to a roaring ovation. "This invitation was a top-down decision that did not take into account the desires and interests of the student body on an occasion that is supposed to honor us above all."

Noting that Mr. McCain had promised to give the same speech at all of his graduation appearances, Ms. Rohe, who was one of two students selected to speak by university deans, attacked his remarks even before he delivered them.

"Senator McCain will tell us today that dissent and disagreement are our civic and moral obligation in times of crisis, and I agree," she said. "I consider this a time of crisis, and I feel obligated to speak."

She continued, "Senator McCain will also tell us about his strong-headed self-assuredness in his youth, which prevented him from hearing the ideas of others, and in so doing he will imply that those of us who are young are too naïve to have valid opinions.

"I am young, and although I don’t profess to possess the wisdom that time affords us, I do know that pre-emptive war is dangerous and wrong," she said.

She added, "Osama bin Laden still has not been found, nor have those weapons of mass destruction."

McCain then spoke to the students about his strong support for the pre-emptive invasion of Iraq:

Mr. McCain seemed uneasy, but stuck to his script and did not acknowledge the barbs. As Ms. Rohe had predicted, he spoke about the importance of civil discourse, and he reiterated his defense of the war.

"I believe the benefits of success will justify the costs and risks," he said. The protests grew louder and more frequent as he spoke. Some graduates walked out. Others laughed. When Mr. McCain returned to policy after briefly quoting Yeats, someone shouted, "More poetry!"

Undoubtedly, the protests from these students will help McCain win the support of die-hard Bush supporters (the few that are left) who hate any expression of dissent, and who by and large despise New York City anyway (too Jewish). 

John McCain Republican New York City