A fond tip o' the hat to the University of Notre Dame
By ROSEMARY O'NEILL, Published in the South Bend Tribune, May 15, 2009
The early '80s were a pretty bleak time for my dad, U.S. Rep. Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill.
Ronald Reagan, an immensely popular president, swept into power, co-opted so-called Reagan Democrats, and passed legislation that was anathema to an old-time New Dealer like my dad.
Democrats peeled away from supporting him, and murmured about the need for a new face for the Democratic Party. As he walked through airports, many people turned away from him or, worse still, harangued him as he sought to catch his next plane.
At his lowest point, in May 1980, he was invited by the University of Notre Dame to be its recipient of the Laetare Medal at that year's commencement exercises. Nothing thrilled him more.
It might be unfashionable to champion the needs of the poor, to call for common sacrifice to invest in the future of the country, or to decry the calls for excessive spending on military hardware beyond the needs of the common defense, but at least the leaders of one of the greatest centers of Catholic learning in the United States did not think so. They thought it was praiseworthy. And so did the students. When he was awarded the medal, they gave him a standing ovation.
Now the leaders of Notre Dame have invited the president of the United States to address the commencement exercises for the Class of 2009. Barack Obama holds dear many of the same values as did my father. Dad's purpose throughout his political life was to create jobs to put people back to work so that they could ensure their families were part of the American dream.
Thus far Obama's main objective has been to see this country back on its economic feet by developing new technologies to ensure prosperity, improve the health of our people and the environment in which they live. Certainly these efforts resonate within the great research facility which is Notre Dame.
And what could be more fitting than for Obama to call for an intensified focus on education from the platform of this preeminent university?
Dad would laugh at the people criticizing Notre Dame for its invitation to Obama, because he would quickly see them for what they are: anti-Obama Republicans, who always opposed him, hiding behind Catholic dogma on a single issue.
But what greater calling is there for a university than serving as a forum for exploring diverse views? And what greater honor could a university have than to have the president of the United States participate in such a forum?
Up above, Dad is tipping his hat to Notre Dame for extending such an invitation to President Barack Obama.
Rosemary O'Neill is a retired foreign service officer living in Washington, D.C., and Cape Cod, Mass. Her father, U.S. Rep. Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill, D-Mass., was speaker of the House from 1977 to 1987.
