Vice President Joe Biden is known for having a certain way with words. In college, it was the wrong way – borrowing words and cutting some corners.

In May 1965, Biden plagiarized a law review article during his first year at Syracuse University law school. Biden acknowledged the incident in 1987 to The New York Times, stating that he ‘had simply misunderstood the need to cite sources carefully,’ the Times reported.

In politics, he’s had a straightforward way with words, sometimes carelessly, but often admirably sticking to a ‘tell it like it is’ attitude. His words have drawn criticism and respect and kept press secretaries and audiences on edge.

The words he delivered to the graduating class of 2009 at Syracuse University were all of these – honest, inspiring and a little bit borrowed.

Biden followed a speech by University Scholar and SU graduating senior Colin Fanning. Fanning gave an articulate tribute to the importance of ‘play’ in a world burdened by obstacles. His speech was a difficult act to follow, even for the vice president of the United States.

But Biden incorporated much of Fanning’s playful sentiment and those of famous writers and celebrities to motivate the graduating class.

He quoted Frank Sinatra, who said ‘orange is the happiest color,’ reflecting that, ‘he must have been thinking about Syracuse,’ when he said it.

He humorously addressed the controversy surrounding his own tenure at SU, saying, ‘Hey Colin, I’ll tell you what, you would have loved me. I never had to be told that play was important. It just came naturally. It came naturally all the way through law school. Oh, God.’

He recalled a favorite memory at SU, watching Floyd Little outscore Gayle Sayers in an eight-touchdown shoot out.

And he remembered another event at Archbold Stadium: 1968 graduation.

Biden’s tone became far less playful as he described the state of the world upon his graduation. He recounted the Tet Offensive in January of his senior year, the subsequent student occupation of the Chancellor’s office a month later and then the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy, who he described as the hope of his generation.

‘All throughout this country a sense of hopelessness and helplessness entered this country,’ he said. ‘That was the world when I walked across this stage.’

He compared that environment to the feeling today, and called the graduates to action. He said they’re privileged to be entering the world at a time when they can change it.

He called these points inflection points, raising his voice to quote William Allen White, who said, ‘I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today.’

The speech was at times political, often sounding like a campaign speech as he recounted world issues and the capacity for his administration and the graduating class to effect change. He struck down criticisms that his administration is trying to do too much and encouraged graduates never to be dissuaded by warnings of ‘too much’ or ‘not now.’

He called the war in Iraq a war of ‘choice’ rather than ‘one of necessity’ but commended the 1.9 million young people under 30 who have been deployed.

Biden applauded the class for what they had already accomplished – their volunteer presence, their voting participation and interest in civic duties.

‘I’ve done many commencement speeches, and I can say with absolute certainty, without fear of contradiction, there has never been a graduating class who is graduating into a moment where they actually have a chance to make more than an incremental change,’ he said. ‘Ladies and gentleman, that’s where we, are that’s why Barack and I ran. That’s why I believe so passionately we have a shot that hasn’t occurred in the lifetime of anyone in this Dome, and now we’re here. Imagine what you can do.’

And his final words, though borrowed, were this time attributed with a nod to student speaker Fanning. ‘Now go enjoy yourselves,’ he said, ‘Play.’

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Published on May 20, 2009 at 12:00 pm