At Graduation, McCain Tips Cap to the Right

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), offering an olive branch to Christian conservatives who could impede his presidential ambitions, called Saturday for more civility in politics -- even as he stood next to an evangelical leader he once denounced as an “agent of intolerance” and an “evil influence.”

“Americans deserve more than tolerance from one another,” McCain said in a commencement address at Liberty University, a fundamentalist Baptist institution here, where he shared the stage with its founder, the Rev. Jerry Falwell. “We deserve each other’s respect, whether we think each other right or wrong in our views.”

It was a rare joint appearance between two GOP powerhouses -- and onetime antagonists -- positioned to play central roles in the fight for party leadership in the post-Bush era.

Considered a leading candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, McCain did not directly refer to or apologize for his attack on Falwell in the senator’s first, unsuccessful presidential bid in 2000. But in urging the graduating students to be “respectful of the goodness in each other,” McCain said, “I have not always heeded this injunction myself, and I regret it very much.”

McCain has said he will not decide whether he will run for president until after the congressional elections this fall. But he has been campaigning for other Republicans, courting party activists and taking other steps that could lay the groundwork for a presidential bid.

Aides said McCain would deliver a similar commencement speech at other universities in coming weeks. But his self-deprecating, conciliatory tone seemed especially suited to mend fences with the evangelical leaders he alienated in 2000.

During the bruising South Carolina primary that year, McCain’s opponents spread untrue rumors that he had fathered a child out of wedlock. McCain blamed Falwell, who apparently was not responsible. In an angry speech, he denounced Falwell and other evangelical leaders as “agents of intolerance” and warned Republicans against “pandering to the outer reaches of American politics.”

That pointed attack left wounds that still fester today -- wounds so deep that some Republicans think they are a huge obstacle to McCain’s winning the party’s nomination.

Late last year, McCain met privately with Falwell in what the evangelical leader described as an occasion “to put aside any past misunderstandings.” An invitation to speak at Liberty’s commencement followed.

After McCain accepted the invitation, critics accused him of pandering for political purposes.

In part because of objections to his speech at Liberty, students and faculty members at the New School in New York have protested plans for McCain to address their graduation ceremony and receive an honorary degree Friday.

Liberals have protested his upcoming speech at Columbia University as well.

The controversy underscores the potential risk of McCain’s approach to preparing for a possible presidential run. As he tries to win over new allies from the GOP establishment and conservative power centers, he risks undercutting the image of a straight-talking maverick that earned him a following.

And it is not clear how much gestures like his Liberty speech will accomplish in winning over evangelical conservatives. Many say it is more important how he votes on certain social issues -- especially whether he supports a federal constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, which the Senate is expected to vote on in early June. McCain has voted against such an amendment in the past. Although he opposes same-sex marriage, McCain has argued that any ban should be approved state by state.

“If he is making an attempt to pander to religious conservatives [at Liberty University], he will have missed an opportunity to do so if he fails to vote for the marriage protection amendment,” said Gary Glenn, president of the American Family Assn. of Michigan.

In a New York Times opinion piece explaining his decision to invite McCain to speak, Falwell noted their differences on the marriage amendment but made little of them. He denied that his invitation to McCain constituted an endorsement, but he said he could support him.

The night before Saturday’s speech, McCain attended the university’s baccalaureate service and Falwell hosted a private reception for him. In introducing McCain at commencement, Falwell praised McCain’s service in the Vietnam War.

“The ilk of John McCain is very scarce, very small,” Falwell said. “Today we pay tribute to a great American.”

McCain, appearing in a sports arena before the university’s graduating class of 2,453 students and thousands of others, did not touch on hot-button social issues such as gay marriage and abortion.

Instead he focused on more global issues, offering a robust defense of his support for the war in Iraq. And, mocking his own exuberance and reputation as a maverick, he exhorted students to aspire to serving a greater cause. He received a standing ovation.

“All my life I’ve stood a little apart from institutions I willingly joined,” McCain said. “It just felt natural to me. But if my life had shared no common purpose, it would not have amounted to much more than eccentricity.”

Many in the audience either did not know of McCain’s 2000 attack on the university’s founder or seemed willing to leave that and other differences in the past.

“I don’t necessarily agree with him on family policy and marriage,” said Kim Casey, a graduate who studied government. “But I respect his service. I’m really excited he’s here.”

Others were unimpressed and saw McCain’s appearance as an act of political self-promotion.

“I don’t think it was directed at the class of 2006,” said Luke Walker, 20, of Oregon, who was there to see his brother graduate. “He was doing it for his own glory. He’s looking for the presidency.”