President Obama gave the commencement speech today at the University of California-Irvine, which is a fairly conservative place. He sounded like a liberal blogger.
Obama issued a call to action to the tens of thousands gathered at Angel Stadium even though he said Congress “is full of folks who stubbornly and automatically reject the scientific evidence” and say climate change is a hoax or fad.
“Many others duck the question by saying, ‘Hey, I’m not a scientist,'” Obama said in remarks prepared for delivery. “Let me translate: what that means is, ‘I accept that manmade climate change is real, but if I admit it, I’ll be run out of town by a radical fringe that thinks climate science is a liberal plot.'”
We used to wonder why the president was so reluctant to use this kind of plain talk. We don’t have to wonder that anymore. He learned.
“No matter what you do in life, you will run up against a stubborn status quo and people determined to stymie your best efforts, who say you can’t do something and shouldn’t bother trying. I’ve got some experience with this myself,” Obama said.
“I’ve got to admit, though, it’s pretty rare that you’ll encounter someone who says the problem you’re trying to solve doesn’t even exist,” he continued. “When President Kennedy set us on a course for the moon, I’m sure some made a serious case that it wouldn’t be worth it. But I don’t remember anyone ignoring science. I don’t remember anyone saying the moon wasn’t real, or that it was made of cheese.”
The president was an infant during the Kennedy presidency, and his family clearly never visited the Gohmert household.
