(5/13/09) President Barack Obama comments during his Arizona State University commencement speech about the “Great” job Janet Napolitano is doing at DHS (see ‘Side Note’ section below). He also addresses the controversy over ASU not bestowing an honorary degree because he hasn’t achieved enough in his life (“body of work”). Also, he tells a funny, often told joke, about President Crow and the Board of Regents receiving an audit from the IRS.

Secondly, take note of the following portion of the speech (6:14) it has a sort of surreal quality, dripping rich with irony as professor Obama has a do as I say, not as I do teaching moment.

“The Elevation of appearance over substance, of celebrity over character, of short term gains over lasting achievement is precisely what your generation needs to help end.”

“It’s in chasing titles and status, in worrying about the next election rather than the national interests and the interests of those who your suppose to represent, that politicians so often lose their ways in Washington. They spend time thinking about polls but not about principal.”

Finally, Obama offers his philosophy on a career path that these fresh graduates could pursue in their future years as they embark off into the larger world.

(Side Note): Not everyone is in universal agreement about the “Great” job Janet Napolitano is doing as Secretary of Homeland Security; in fact, her time at the helm of DHS has been marked by numerous controversies.

Background Video & Articles:

“Napolitano Defends DHS’s Right-Wing Extremist Threat Report & Release of Terror Interrogation Memos”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HH0SBZxC9M

Duration : 0:10:58

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