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Strong | Specter practices - and endorses – civility
12.16.2007
By
Michael Smerconish
I have watched Arlen
Specter, now Pennsylvania's longest-serving U.S. senator, deliver countless
speeches. But never had I seen him talk quite as he did when he addressed 1,000
people Dec. 8.
The setting was the Grand
Ballroom of New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, site of the Pennsylvania
Society's 109th annual dinner. That is the centerpiece of a weekend during
which the Keystone State's political movers and shakers gather in pomp and
collegiality.
That night, Specter was the
99th recipient of the Society's Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement,
awarded every year since 1908 to a figure of unfailing leadership and
wide-ranging contributions. Former awardees include Presidents Dwight
Eisenhower and George H.W. Bush, sports figures Arnold Palmer and Joe Paterno,
and media figures Bill Cosby and Chris Matthews.
He began his remarks as he
so often does - by taking off his wristwatch, placing it on the lectern, and
telling the crowd he wished to "give you a false sense of security that I
am paying attention to the time."
He continued by showing some
of the humor that recently earned him second place in an annual Washington
celebrity comedy contest, complete with references to Bob Dole and Viagra.
Having watched his performance on YouTube, I was disappointed he didn't reprise
one particular one-liner on Dan Quayle. ("He thought harass was two words.")
But then he reached inside
his tuxedo pocket and withdrew a few index cards. I knew immediately he had
something important to say - and that he wanted to get it just right - because
Specter rarely, if ever, speaks from notes. Despite dining with my friend Jack
Daniels, I'm glad I had the presence of mind to jot down a few of my own.
This was Specter as
Pennsylvania elder statesman, anxious to deliver a message about the need for
civility and compromise, not shrillness and contempt. He spoke like an
ideological moderate fed up with the left-right extremism too often seen on the
split screens of America today. And he thought the future should have more of
the camaraderie so evident in New York City that night.
"The importance of
courtesy and civility is critical at all levels - international negotiations,
national, state and local government. This weekend is exactly the kind of time
when we should all reflect on how much we have in common and how much harder we
should try to get along."
And then came this key line:
"If you can lift a
glass together with your colleague from across the aisle on a Saturday night
here in New York, you can lift your pen with that same colleague across the
hall on Monday morning in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, or any place in
our state."
His introduction had been
accompanied by a video presentation that rolled through the stages of his
career - from hard-charging district attorney to Warren Commission staffer to
unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate. Included in the high-tech scrapbook were
images of Specter on the world stage - with Fidel Castro and Yasir Arafat -
which prompted a round of guffaws from the audience.
It occurred to me that his
office had no doubt supplied those images to underscore his point that we live
in times requiring more, not less, dialogue.
That became evident when he
praised President Bush for writing a letter to Kim Jong Il that began
"Dear Mr. Chairman," calling that greeting of respect a good move as
we strive for better relations with North Korea. He cited President Ronald
Reagan's successful arms-reduction treaties with the U.S.S.R. even after Reagan
had tagged that country the Evil Empire. And he credited diplomacy for the
deflation of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's terrorist tendencies.
Sitting on the dais through
all of this was Gov. Rendell, himself an actor in Specter's sketch of
cooperation. Specter shared a story from his final days as district attorney in
Philadelphia. Riding in an elevator in City Hall, a young Ed Rendell told his
boss he planned to make a career in public service. Specter offered to
introduce the young prosecutor to city Republican leader Billy Meehan, at which
point Rendell informed Specter that he was a Democrat. Before that, Specter
said, "I did not know - or, for that matter, care - about his political
registration."
He also shared a story in
which Chief Justice Earl Warren shook the hand of Jack Ruby, already convicted
for the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald. Later, in connection with the work of the
Warren Commission, Warren lent Ruby his eyeglasses.
The goal in all these
anecdotes, he told me a few days after his speech, was to inspire those in
attendance to transport the nonpartisanship evident in the bar rooms of New
York to the courtrooms, war rooms and chambers of Pennsylvania.
Tweaking a Barry Goldwater
line, Specter told the crowd: "Moderation in the pursuit of virtue is no
vice and is the approach which must be extended to our county courthouses, to
Harrisburg, to Washington and beyond to international conferences. This is the
approach that will ensure that, when you future gold medalists stand in my
place on a future second Saturday in December, you can declare, as do I, that
we still live in the greatest country in the history of the world."
Michael Smerconish's column
appears on Thursdays in the Daily News and on Sundays in Currents. He can be
heard from 5:30 to 9 a.m. weekdays on "The Big Talker," WPHT-AM
(1210). Contact him at http://www.mastalk.com.