The Not-Welcome Sign

But author Jane Smiley so dislikes McCain that it sounds like she believes he should be tarred and feathered:

"The appalled onlooker, such as myself, the sort of person (a voter) that McCain wants to win over, has to stare in disbelief. From a purely strategic point of view, McCain's assault upon the fortress of liberalism that is the New School was an abject failure. He did not win over anyone, and he defeated and humiliated himself. [Chief of staff] Mark Salter failed him absolutely because it was Salter's job to understand, before the graduation speech, that McCain was unwelcome as the representative of a failed administration and a failed war, and that he is widely seen as someone who may once have had character but for whom the term 'roll-away teeth' now applies.

"Instead of warning McCain that intelligence reports showed that the New School could be treacherous territory and required some tactical shifts, and possibly an orderly retreat, Salter let him march forth in ignorant expectation of victory. Afterward, showing himself to be a cur instead of a man, Salter whined and growled and tried to bite. His motive -- to save his own [butt] -- was evident.

"Of course, my real beef against John McCain is the same as my beef against all supporters of the Iraq War and the current administration. He has collaborated (enthusiastically) in decimating the treasury, breaking the army, wrecking the bureaucracy, silencing the media, gelding the opposition party, handing the public lands over to private interests to exploit as they please, dirtying the air and water, impoverishing the working class, damaging the schools, outsourcing the jobs, and laying waste to the public health, not to mention killing and maiming thousands upon thousands of Americans and Iraqis, destroying the Iraqi infrastructure, defying international law, and alienating formerly friendly people around the world. His crimes are legion. He should consider himself lucky to get away with mere humiliation."

Former Democratic senator Bob Kerrey , the New School president, defends the place on the Huffington Post:

"I now speak in defense of the behavior of my students -- the minority who protested and the majority who did not. On the surface, some of the tactics of the protest were rude, noisy, and disrespectful. Less obvious, however, was the self-restraint that prevented the protesters from behaving in a fashion that would have shut down the commencement or made it impossible for Senator McCain or me to continue. Though many in the audience -- including Senator McCain and I -- were offended by the heckling, at no time were we in danger of not being able to proceed."

That's his defense ? That being rude and disrespectful is okay because at least they didn't throw tomatoes and run McCain off the campus?

The student who used her speech to challenge McCain, Jean Rohe , also blogs about the experience:

"It's been noted in several columns that anti-McCain sentiment coming from the left may actually help him to garner support from the conservatives by giving him the opportunity to paint us as extremist liberals, so we should all keep our mouths shut. I say we need some 'extremist liberals' if we're ever going to get our democracy back. Others have said that he's a moderate at heart and that we should let him continue pandering to the religious right so he can get the vote. Once he gets into office he'll show his true colors and be the centrist he always was.

"I don't buy that. People who truly care about human beings don't vote for an unjust war, among other things, simply as a political maneuver. Enough said. . . .

"Yes, McCain was undoubtedly shouted-out and heckled by people who were not politely absorbing his words so as to consider them fully from every angle. But what did he expect?"

I scarcely know what to say. She doesn't like the war. She doesn't believe McCain was sincere in supporting the war. She doesn't want him to be president. Therefore he's an unacceptable commencement speaker?