Daley's Northwestern Speech Boring

By Margaret Lyons in News on Jun 23, 2008 6:24PM

Mayor Daley delivered his much-talked-about commencement address at Northwestern this weekend, and....thud. Students said the speech was generic, which it kind of is.

From all corners, you’re told that you have to rein in your hopes and dreams – that the problems we face are beyond your control.

Well, I’m here to tell you: don’t believe it. You can always do something to make our world better.

After he encourage the grads to take an active role in mentoring children, Mayor Daley went in to full-on sales pitch mode about the Olympics.

And this is another example of where we could use your help. I know many of you are from different cities all across the country and even around the world.

Reach out to your friends and build excitement about Chicago’s bid.

Show your support and sign up on the Chicago 2016 web site or just volunteer.

Hosting the Olympic Games is an opportunity for the United States – through the vehicle of the Olympic Movement – to restore our image in the world as a place where people from different backgrounds and ethnic origins can live together and pursue their dreams.

Oh, there's more.

In my political career, I have found that treating people the way you would like to be treated seems like a simple rule to live by. But it is not so simple in practice.

Politics today has become an exercise in tearing down other people. If you’re not with me, you’re against me. I’m Red, you’re Blue. I’m right and you’re wrong.

But the truth is, ladies and gentleman, real leadership—political or otherwise-- isn’t just about winning elections or making big salaries.

It is about having the courage to make difficult decisions. It’s about working together and finding common ground to help achieve common goals.

And it’s about civility in our public conversations.

I deeply believe that the people of our city, state and nation expect their leaders to work together. Even when there are differences on policy, they want public discourse to be respectful and they want things to get done.

There must always be room to disagree about substance and policy. But that’s accomplished by talking, not shouting; by building bridges, not barriers.

Leadership is about creating an environment that brings out the best in people – the best ideas, the best effort and, ultimately, the best decisions.

We create that environment by recognizing that compromise is essential to progress.

We actually thought Mayor Daley was a great pick for graduation speaker, but this address is pretty blah, not to mention disingenuous—Daley's hardly known for his ability to compromise, and civil discourse hasn't been his strong suit ever, unless random accusations or racism and open loathing of the press qualify. [full text of the speech, Trib]