LYNCHBURG, Va., May 8 -- President Bush's chief political adviser told graduates of Jerry Falwell's Liberty University on Saturday to judge leaders on the basis of character.
America needs people who have "the moral clarity and courage to do what's right, regardless of consequence, fashion or fad," Karl Rove said.
Karl Rove, President Bush's senior adviser, addresses graduates of Liberty University as Jerry Falwell, right, its chancellor and founder, listens.
(R. David Duncan Iii -- Lynchburg News & Advance Via AP)
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"You either have values ingrained in your heart and soul that will not change with the wind, or you don't," he said.
Rove also reminded the 2,041 graduates to pay off their credit cards. He advised them that when they go to job interviews, "don't act like you're smarter than the person you're interviewing with. Even if you are."
Rove, who said he never earned a college degree, was presented an honorary doctorate of humanities by Falwell for his "commitment to conservative ideas."
Rove also shared how he persevered in politics from an early age.
"At the age of 9, I put a Nixon bumper sticker on the wire basket in the front of my bicycle. Unfortunately, the little Catholic girl down the street was a couple years and about 20 pounds on me. She was for Kennedy.
"When she saw me on my bike with my bumper sticker for Nixon, she put me on the ground, flattened me out and gave me a bloody nose," he said.
"Despite that beating, I never lost interest in politics."
