Barack Obama delivered the commencement address at Wesleyan University on May 25, 2008, filling in for Senate colleague and friend Ted Kennedy, recently diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. Earlier this year, Kennedy gave Obama an eloquent, emphatic endorsement, declaring, “I feel change in the air.”

In a personal call to public service and in tribute to the legacy of Senator Edward Kennedy, Senator Barack Obama challenged graduates of Wesleyan University to “work side by side to take to on the common challenges that confront all of humanity.” Obama was stepping in for the ailing Kennedy, who had been scheduled to deliver the commencement address before the last week’s cancer diagnosis.

Obama, the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination, today told an audience of several thousand to “be unified in service to a greater good,” a cause he described as synonymous with the Kennedy family. Kennedy, who endorsed Obama earlier this year in a symbolic passing of his family’s progressive mantle, was represented by his wife, Vicki, and his stepdaughter, Caroline Raclin, who is a member of this year’s graduating class.

Speaking of Kennedy, Obama said it was an honor to “pinch hit for one of my personal heroes and a hero to his country.”

“Surely if one man can achieve so much and make such a difference in the lives of so many people than each of us can do our part,” he said. “Surely if his service and his story can forever shape America’s story, then our collective service can shape the destiny of this generation. At the very least, his living example calls us to try.”

Source: Obama urges graduates to ‘be unified in service to a greater good’

The symbolism of protégé and mentor permeated Mr. Obama’s address, which called graduates to public service, honored Mr. Kennedy and reflected the legacy of his family.

“It is rare in this country of ours that a person exists who has touched the lives of nearly every single American without any of us even realizing it,” Mr. Obama said, his voice rising. “And I have a feeling that Ted Kennedy is not done just yet. But surely, if one man can achieve so much and make such a difference in the lives of so many, then each of us can do our part.”

Mr. Kennedy has deep ties to Wesleyan — his stepdaughter, Caroline Raclin, graduated Sunday, and his son Edward Jr. celebrated his 25th reunion this weekend. The university is a bastion of the type of liberal politics that Mr. Kennedy has long stood for.

Mr. Obama implored the 737 undergraduates and 100 graduate students to change the country and the world through service to others, a theme Mr. Kennedy planned to focus on. Mr. Obama urged them to help rebuild New Orleans, volunteer at a local soup kitchen or help end the situation in Darfur, and to remember that change will come, though not immediately.

“It’s because you have an obligation to yourself, because our individual salvation depends on our collective salvation,” Mr. Obama said. “Because it’s only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential and discover the role you’ll play in writing the next great chapter in America’s story.”

Source: Obama Stands In for Kennedy at Wesleyan

See also related posts:

• Video: Ted Kennedy Endorses Barack Obama, “I feel change in the air.” (January 28, 2008)
• Senator Ted Kennedy Has a Brain Tumor – Nation Responds (Video)

Video: Barack Obama at Wesleyan Commencement Ceremony 5-25-08


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