2008 Woodie Awards
Video related to this article is available below.Issue date: 3/15/07 Section: News
James Baker: Divisive, or deserving?
Despite controversy, many say Baker remains a good choice
Albert Sun
Beck, president of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, added that, at graduation, "you want to go hear an inspiring person. Baker is not considered" to be one.
SPME - made up of academics from universities around the world - is a resource center that informs academics about Middle Eastern affairs.
Others said Baker may not be as anti-Israel as some say.
"I don't think people who have seriously looked at foreign policy issues would see that he's ever taken a position that would put him in [the anti-Israel] camp," said Don Kettl, director of the Fels Institute of Government.
Beyond these Middle East-related concerns, others are pointing to Baker's involvement in the 2000 presidential election as an even greater source of the controversy.
Kettl and Political Science professor Ian Lustick cited Baker's role in the Florida vote, in which he was the crucial figure in having the Supreme Court intervene and prevent a final recount.
"The most controversial thing he has done is to have sabotaged American democracy" in the election, Lustick wrote in an e-mail.
Baker is not the first Commencement speaker to generate heavy debate before even stepping foot on campus.
In 1980, black student groups on campus were successful in protesting the selection of former Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.) as that year's Commencement speaker.
Moynihan had advised President Richard Nixon to approach race issues with a policy of "benign neglect," a policy widely seen as an abandonment of pro-black national programs. Eventually, Noel Gilroy Annan, a British academic, was chosen instead.
The University has thus far backed its selection of Baker as the 251st Commencement speaker. Penn Trustee and acclaimed journalist Andrea Mitchell, who was involved in the decision to bring in Baker, called him "an esteemed Secretary of State, long praised for his devotion to Middle East peace."
Staff writer Emily Babay contributed reporting to this article.
SPME - made up of academics from universities around the world - is a resource center that informs academics about Middle Eastern affairs.
Others said Baker may not be as anti-Israel as some say.
"I don't think people who have seriously looked at foreign policy issues would see that he's ever taken a position that would put him in [the anti-Israel] camp," said Don Kettl, director of the Fels Institute of Government.
Beyond these Middle East-related concerns, others are pointing to Baker's involvement in the 2000 presidential election as an even greater source of the controversy.
Kettl and Political Science professor Ian Lustick cited Baker's role in the Florida vote, in which he was the crucial figure in having the Supreme Court intervene and prevent a final recount.
"The most controversial thing he has done is to have sabotaged American democracy" in the election, Lustick wrote in an e-mail.
Baker is not the first Commencement speaker to generate heavy debate before even stepping foot on campus.
In 1980, black student groups on campus were successful in protesting the selection of former Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.) as that year's Commencement speaker.
Moynihan had advised President Richard Nixon to approach race issues with a policy of "benign neglect," a policy widely seen as an abandonment of pro-black national programs. Eventually, Noel Gilroy Annan, a British academic, was chosen instead.
The University has thus far backed its selection of Baker as the 251st Commencement speaker. Penn Trustee and acclaimed journalist Andrea Mitchell, who was involved in the decision to bring in Baker, called him "an esteemed Secretary of State, long praised for his devotion to Middle East peace."
Staff writer Emily Babay contributed reporting to this article.
Viewing Comments 1 - 7 of 11
Joe Lucas
posted 3/15/07 @ 9:45 AM EST
Why is a conservative diplomat considered divisive, but a liberal considered deserving? Why do liberals, who presumably believe in free speech, try so hard to squelch the speech of people they don't agree with? Why do we drive on the parkway, and park on the driveway? Perhaps some things are never meant to be understood. (Continued…)
06 Alum
posted 3/15/07 @ 10:44 AM EST
Even though I am a liberal Democrat and James Baker is a prominent Republican, I would have greatly preferred Baker as a commencement speaker to Jodi Foster. (Continued…)
really.....
posted 3/15/07 @ 11:26 AM EST
The pro-Israel and Jewish students who are disappointed in him as a speaker for his beliefs are ridiculous. GROW UP. you don't always get what you want. (Continued…)
Philasteen
posted 3/15/07 @ 12:19 PM EST
I would actually like him to talk about how settlements are an impediment to peace. It would be nice to have some uncomfortable truth in a commencement speech for once. (Continued…)
Michael J. Stevko
posted 3/15/07 @ 3:27 PM EST
I'm happy he's speaking. The fact is that anyone that disagrees with Israel is considered "anti-semetic"-which is a pile of horse dung. The FACT is that the pro-Israel lobby in this country is way to powerful and being a friend of Israel does NOT mean that Israel can do whatever it wants without accountability. (Continued…)
The Worst of Both Worlds
posted 3/15/07 @ 7:33 PM EST
The only thing that makes any of today's uber conservatives even remotely palatable is that they tend to take a rational stance on Israel. Even morons like Bush and Cheney understand that Israel has a right to defend itself against its "palestinian" and Hezbollah neighbors that seek to destroy israel and the Jewish faith. (Continued…)
al
posted 3/17/07 @ 7:32 PM EST
"We had additional meetings because we wanted to ensure that the speaker would appeal to a broad base of people"
I understand the need to cover all bases. (Continued…)
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