John Yarmuth: “Last May, President Richard Levin of Yale University delivered a commencement speech, and I think the message he…”

“Last May, President Richard Levin of Yale University delivered a commencement speech, and I think the message he conveyed in that speech is worth repeating here for the Members of this body and also for the American people. I am going to read a portion of the speech and then include the entire commencement speech for the Record. These are the words of Dr. Richard Levin: ``Aristotle tells us that we are by nature political animals. But one wonders whether we would recognize the species we have become. Eighteen months ago, the United States elected a new President who was prepared to address intelligently and collaboratively the most pressing problems confronting the Nation--education, health care, climate change, and improving America's image in the rest of the world. Late in the election campaign, the financial crisis intervened, and economic recovery and financial sector reform were added to this ambitious agenda. ``What has happened since does not inspire great confidence in the capacity of our system to deal intelligently with important problems. Why is this happening?'' Dr. Levin says: ``Let me make two observations and then trace their implications for how you might conduct yourselves as citizens and participants in political life. First, contemporary political discussion is too often dominated by oversimplified ideologies with superficial appeal to voters.…”