MJ...Future President Romney praises the Family..hussein obama praises homosexuals and the destruction of the Family.
Romney urges grads to honor family commitments
'Culture – what you believe, what you value, how you live – matters'
Romney praises 'conviction' of Liberty University grads
By: Ray Reed |
The News & Advance
Published: May 12, 2012
www2.newsadvance.com
Controversy was absent as presidential candidate Mitt Romney delivered a speech filled with religious references and a few political allusions Saturday to 6,000 graduates and a full football stadium at Liberty University.
The loudest and longest cheers rose when Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. noted that 2,000 military personnel were graduating.
The second-loudest applause came when Romney said, “Marriage is a relationship between one man and one woman,” echoing his campaign’s response since President Obama declared his support for same-sex marriage on Wednesday.
The clapping, cheers and whistles lasted 25 seconds as perhaps one-third of the graduates and audience rose to their feet.
“I think he hit on many points that evangelicals can agree with,” said Isaac Schaeffer, a masters-degree graduate from the Virgin Islands who earned his degree through LU’s online studies.
Zack Martin, a graduating senior who has been a leader in Republican politics throughout his four years at LU, said Romney “did a great job addressing values. I think he gave the audience exactly what they wanted to hear.”
Romney said nothing about his Mormon religion, which had sparked a strong thread of online comments after LU announced three weeks ago that he would be the commencement speaker.
Many people said on the Internet that it was inappropriate for a Mormon to speak at a Christian university but, except for a few scattered catcalls of “go home,” people in the crowd Saturday chuckled at Romney’s jokes and applauded respectfully.
“I thought it was about unification,” said Sonya Dotson, a graduate in the online program who lives near Atlanta. “I think he tried to keep us all under that same umbrella of unification as a nation,” Dotson said.
In the air above more than 34,000 people in Williams Stadium, an airplane towed a banner that read: “GOP = higher school debt” – a reference to Washington’s tussle between Democrats and Republicans last week over freezing the interest rate on student loans.
“I think that airplane is lost,” Falwell told the crowd after Romney’s speech. LU graduates’ default rate on their loans is only 4 percent, Falwell said, and that’s half the national average. “So that plane must be at the wrong school.”
In his preliminary remarks, Falwell observed that a non-profit university is prohibited from endorsing candidates, and that Romney’s presence “should not be seen as an institutional endorsement of his candidacy.”
Falwell then invited Romney to the microphone with these words: “Now to deliver our 39th annual commencement address, I am thrilled to welcome the next president of the United States, Governor Mitt Romney.”
The presumptive Republican nominee opened with a few jokes about graduation, including one for the parents: “The American dream is not owning your own home, it’s about getting your kids out of the home you own.”
He commended the graduates and said, “Lately, I’ve found myself thinking about life in four-year stretches. And let’s just say that not everybody has achieved as much in these last four years as you have.
“But that’s a theme for another day,” Romney said.
He added, “Of course, what the next four years might hold for me is yet to be determined. But I will say that things are looking up, and I take your kind hospitality today as a sign of good things to come.”
He told the graduates that “you leave Liberty with conviction and confidence as your armor.”
“You know what you believe. You know who you are. And you know who you will serve. Not all colleges instill that kind of confidence, but it will be among the most prized qualities from your education here.
“Moral certainty, clear standards, and a commitment to spiritual ideals will set you apart in a world that searches for meaning,” Romney said.
He listed spiritual leaders including John Wesley, William Wilberforce, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Pope John Paul II, and Billy Graham.
“Each showed, in their own way, the relentless and powerful influence of the message of Jesus Christ. May that be your guide,” Romney said.
(Staff writer Katrina Koerting contributed to this story.)
Liberty University commencement 2012
4,000 graduates
6,000 of them present in Williams Stadium, including 2,200 on-campus students and 3,800 online graduates.
6,300 Master’s degrees were awarded
2,000 military personnel graduated
2,000 seminary students graduated
Graduates represented 50 states and 70 countries.
Honorary doctoral degrees were conferred on Worth Carter Jr., a Virginia banker; Truett Cathy Jr., founder of Chick-fil-A; Mitt Romney |
