Watching Leiberman campaign
Cappy Gagnon
Cappy's Corner
On Tuesday, I was one of the 600 people inside fabled Washington Hall for the speech of Senator Joseph Lieberman. It was a wonderful experience, though filled with some conflicting thoughts.
The first time I set foot in Washington Hall, during my freshman year — 1962, when the venerable building was a mere 81 years old (about middle age for a Notre Dame edifice). It was hot. We filled out some kind of paperwork. Not long after, I remember paying the $.25 going rate to watch a movie in Washington Hall. It was "Come Blow your Horn" (I think). Whatever it was called, it featured Tony Bill in one of his first roles. Tony later produced "The Sting" and became quite prominent in Hollywood. The big deal for us ND frosh was that he was a recent Notre Dame grad ("ND Boy Makes Good in Tinseltown"). I sat in the balcony, great theater.
About the only other thing I remember about Washington Hall was the legend that the ghost of George Gipp roamed the building. Why would The Gipper have been in Washington Hall when LaFortune, across the way, housed Notre Dame's pool tables in those days? Just lost, I guess.
Anyway, I was very pleased to see that Senator Lieberman was on campus. During my time around ND I had enjoyed several political figures. I saw Bobby Kennedy at Stepan Center and George Wallace in the old fieldhouse. I'm kind of a political junkie, so I enjoy being present whenever a national figure is speaking. (I saw Ross Perot in Olympia, Washington when he was really hot and had not yet showed he was also a little daft.)
I was visiting in Washington, D.C., in the early '50s, when then Vice President Nixon returned from a tumultuous trip to South America, and I got to watch his motorcade pass by while sitting on the steps of the Washington Memorial. It almost took my adolescent mind off the 150 degree temperature.
Unfortunately, I could not be merely a spectator for the Lieberman talk since I was wearing my security hat (I don't really have a security hat, this is just a metaphor, but you get the idea).
Lieberman delivered a wonderul talk. He did just the right amount of sucking up to Notre Dame. Tasteful and appropriate. He joked that he was going to return to his alma mater and inform the president of Yale that they should aspire to be the "Notre Dame of the East." He also related a terrific Father Hesburgh anecdote and even tipped his hat to student body president Brian O'Donoghue.
The only tense moment in the speech occurred when a young man, seated ten feet from me, yelled out something like "What about abortion?" The young man repeated his question. At this point, Senator Lieberman replied that he would later address this question or something to that effect. I was now forced to put on my security hat (I don't really have a security hat, well you get the idea). I quietly spoke to the young man. I told him he had made his point and asked if he would respect the rights of the others in the audience. He said he was bothered by the abortion issue and the Gore-Lieberman stand on it, but he assured me that he would not disrupt the talk. He was true to his word.
Throughout Lieberman's talk, I also found myself a little uncomfortable with inconsistencies between the rhetoric and the political positions staked out by the candidate. Lieberman spoke about the "value of human life" in some context, but I was reaching for my security hat when he said it — while checking my "Washington Hall neighbor" — because he was clearly not talking about his party's position with regard to partial- birth abortion.
Fortunately, my new friend sighed and looked disgusted, but he suffered in silence. Lieberman also spoke about "merit based" selections, but he was clearly not talking about his party's position on affirmative action. He talked about the Ten Commandments and specifically mentioned the one about adultery, but he didn't mention any famous names from his party. He talked about the corrupting influence of some of our mass media, but while he said there is much that should be done, he seemed to indicate that nothing would be done, "because that would be censorship."
Lieberman made a great point that persons who take their religion seriously seem to be the only individuals who can be the subject of public scorn and prejudice. He pointed out that a media group he spoke with brought up "the Inquisition" when he spoke in defense of religion in our lives. Lieberman reminded us that the Constitution speaks about "freedom of religion," not "freedom from religion." Unfortunately, Lieberman forgot to mention that it is his party who ridicules faith-based political leaders.
After the speech, I went outside and found my new pal. This time, I was wearing my old alum hat and not my security hat — I don't really have "an old alum hat", but you get the idea. I thanked him for not causing any more disruption. I pointed out that the substance of the Lieberman talk was perfectly in line with the values espoused by "Right to Life" groups and the position of the Catholic Church. We both agreed that we were troubled that the political views of Gore-Lieberman did not match his talk.
My new pal questioned why a Catholic University would invite a pro-abortioncandidate to give a sanctioned talk. Here, I put on my Voltaire hat (I don't really have a Voltaire hat) and said "I did not agree with all of his views, but I would defend to the death his right to say them." Actually, I said it in a less eloquent manner, but I like putting on my Voltaire hat.
I have admired Senator Lieberman ever since he first entered the Senate (even though I'm not a big fan of the party who believes that Washington is the answer to all our problems). I do believe that Joe Lieberman is an honest and decent man strongly influenced by Judeo-Christian beliefs, as he stated.
Should Gore-Lieberman win Motel Six-teen Hundred, I hope Lieberman will be able to go to Gore and say something like, "Look, Al, that kid in the balcony at Washington Hall might have a point."
For me, the most touching part of the event occurred just as the Senator was departing the campus. I was in a group of people invited to chat with him on his way out of Washington Hall. He showed a genuine human side while talking with each of us. One female student, wearing a Gore-Lieberman button, told him she would pray for him. Lieberman gave her a hug. I was moved by her comment and also by his reaction to a young person speaking in such a heart-felt manner.
The election is only a couple weeks away. I hope every Notre Dame student has made arrangements to vote. Absentee balloting is painless.
Cappy Gagnon, '66, actually does wear a hat when he's standing in the end zone at football games.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
All Viewpoint Stories for Thursday, November 2, 2000
