[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 78 (Tuesday, June 20, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5456-S5457]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              TIM RUSSERT'S ADDRESS TO HARVARD LAW SCHOOL

 Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, Tim Russert, who served for many 
years as a member of the Senate staff, and who now serves the Nation as 
moderator of ``Meet The Press'' gave the Class Day Address this past 
Wednesday at the Harvard Law School. It is wonderfully reflective and 
just as emphatically exhorting. I ask that it be printed in today's 
Record.
  The address follows:

   Address by Tim Russert, Harvard Law School Class Day, June 7, 2000

       Well today I finally got into Harvard. And I thank you. But 
     most respectfully my perspective is different today than when 
     I applied to law school 27 years ago.
       You have chosen for your class day speaker the son of a man 
     who never finished high school . . . who worked two jobs--as 
     a truck driver and sanitation man--for 37 years and never 
     complained.
       And so may I dare suggest to you I now believe that my dad 
     taught me more by the quiet eloquence of his hard work and 
     his basic decency than I learned from 16 years of formal 
     education.
       With that caveat, let me begin.
       Former White House Chief of Staff John Sununu. Legend has 
     it, in 1991 he encountered some difficult times. He 
     approached the First Lady Barbara Bush and said ``Barbara . . 
     . I need your advice . . . your wisdom . . . your counsel . . 
     . why is it that people here seem to take such an instant 
     dislike to me?'' She replied, ``because it saves time John.''
       Justice Frankfurter said it this way. ``Wisdom too often 
     never comes and so one ought not to reject it merely because 
     it comes late.'' In that humble spirit. Congratulations!
       But before you can begin to move on to the next phase of 
     your lives--you must undergo the last grueling hurdle in your 
     career here at Harvard Law school.
       The Class Day Address.
       Let me be honest with you about my experiences with class 
     day or commencement addresses. I've been through several of 
     my own and I've sat through dozens of others. And I can't 
     recall a single word or phrase from any of those informed, 
     inspirational and seemingly interminable addresses. Despite 
     that, others wiser and more learned than I, have decided 
     there continues to be virtue in this tradition so I will 
     speak to you, but I will try not to delay you too long.
       In 1985, I was granted an extraordinary opportunity--a 
     private audience with the Holy Father.
       I'll never forget it. The door opened--and there was the 
     Pope--dressed in white. He walked solemnly into the room, at 
     that time it seemed as large as this field. I was there to 
     convince His Holiness it was in his interest to appear on the 
     Today show. But my thoughts soon turned away from Bryant 
     Gumbel's career and NBC's ratings toward the idea of 
     salvation. As I stood there with the Vicar of Christ, I 
     simply blurted, ``Bless me Father!'' He put his arm around my 
     shoulder and whispered--you are the one called Timothy''--I 
     said yes, ``the man from NBC''--``yes, yes, that's me.'' 
     ``They tell me you are a very important man.'' Somewhat taken 
     aback, I said, ``Your Holiness, with all due respect, there 
     are only two of us in this room, and I am certainly a distant 
     second.'' He looked at me and said ``right.'' That was not 
     the last time I pleaded nolo contendere.
       In preparing for this afternoon, I had thought about 
     presenting a scholarly essay on the media coverage of the 
     private lives of Presidents and their interns, but I demurred 
     because as you've been taught res ipse loquitor.
       Television has a very hard time conveying complicated 
     issues. It is a medium that seems to seek out simplicity over 
     nuance.
       It is said that David Brinkley recently reminisced that the 
     way television news would cover Moses in the year 2000 would 
     be as follows: ``Moses came down from the mountaintop today 
     with the 10 commandments . . . here is Sam Donaldson with the 
     three most important.''
       So let me skip the temptation of crafting an article for 
     your law review or honing a compelling oral argument.
       Let me instead take a few minutes to have a conversation 
     with you.
       You have chosen a profession and a university that is 
     unique and you made the choice deliberately.
       The education you've received at Harvard Law School isn't 
     meant to be the same as you could have received at medical, 
     engineering or business school.
       You've been given an education that says it's not enough to 
     have skill. Not even enough to have read all the books, 
     mastered all the briefs or shepardized all the cases.
       The oath you will take, the ethics you must abide by, 
     demand more than that.
       Embarking on a legal career will bring some uncertainty, 
     insecurity, apprehension. But fear not. I've overcome worse. 
     You should try being a Buffalo Bills fan in Washington! I 
     actually took Meet the Press to the Super Bowl one year. At 
     the end of the program, I looked into the camera and said, 
     ``It's now in God's hands. And God is good. And God is just. 
     Please God, please make three a charm. One time. Go Bills!
       My colleague Tom Brokaw turned to me and said, ``you Irish 
     Catholics from South Buffalo are shameless.''
       Well, as I moped back from the stadium after the Dallas 
     Cowboys snuck by 38-10. The first person I saw was Brokaw--he 
     came up put his arm around me and said, ``Well, pal, I guess 
     God is a Southern Baptist.'' I've had the opportunity to work 
     for Senators and Governors, meet Popes and interview 
     Presidents--I do know one thing to be true. The values you 
     have been taught, the struggles you have survived and the 
     diploma you are about to receive tomorrow, have prepared

[[Page S5457]]

     you to compete with anybody, anywhere in the world.
       But let us not forget--and Harvard Law graduates, if you 
     hear anything, hear this--it is people, not degrees, who 
     defend, protect and help those in need.
       You will be the foot soldiers--the front-line of our legal 
     system dealing day in and day out with the problems and needs 
     of the ordinary folks, the common citizens--the ones the 
     Court calls plaintiffs and defendants.
       Even if you choose to be a super lawyer/lobbyist in 
     Washington . . . a rainmaker on Wall Street . . . the clerk 
     of a prestigious court you must do your part that true 
     justice prevails for everyone.
       Recall the admonition of Justice Learned Hand ``If we are 
     to keep our democracy, there must be one commandmant:
       Thou shalt not ration justice. Your contributions as a 
     lawyer can be significant. You can help save lives, protect 
     the innocent, convict the guilty, provide prosperity, 
     guarantee justice and train young minds.
       In words of an American Olympics coach, ``You were born to 
     be players. You were meant to be here. At this time. At this 
     moment. Seize it.''
       And so, too, with the Harvard Law graduates of 2000. You 
     were born to be players in this extraordinary game called 
     life, in this extraordinary vocation called the law.
       So go climb that ladder of success and work and live in 
     comfort. And enjoy yourself.
       You earned it. For that is the American dream. But please 
     do this work and your honorable profession one small favor. 
     Remember the people struggling along side you and below you. 
     The people who haven't had the same opportunity, the same 
     blessings, the same education.
       Recognize, comprehend, understand the society into which 
     you are now venturing . . .
       13 children a day are shot dead in the United States of 
     America. We--you--have an obligation to at least ask why?
       Be it criminal law, family law, corporate law, poverty law, 
     politics, litigation, academic--you cannot--you must not--
     ignore these problems. They threaten the very foundation of 
     our system of jurisprudence--the very fabric of our society.
       These are the real numbers--real problems--involving real 
     people.
       Liberals may call it doing good; conservatives may call it 
     enlightened self-interest.
       Whatever your ideology, reach down and see if there isn't 
     someone you can't pull up a rung or two--someone old, someone 
     sick, someone lonely, someone uneducated, someone 
     defenseless. Give them a hand. Give them a chance. Give them 
     a start--give them protection. Give them their dignity. 
     Indeed there is a simple truth. ``No exercise is better for 
     the human heart that reaching down to lift up another.''
       That's what I believe it means to be a Harvard Law School 
     graduate--a lawyer in the year 2000. For the good of all of 
     us, and most important to me--my 14-year-old son, Luke--
     please build a future we all can be proud of.
       And one last thing, laugh at yourself . . . keep your sense 
     of humor.
       One of your alumni, John Kennedy class of 1940, used to 
     send these words to his close friends:
       ``There are three things which are real.
       God . . . human folly and laughter. The first two are 
     beyond our comprehension so we must do what we can with the 
     third.'' A friend once told me. The United States is the only 
     country he knows that puts the pursuit of happiness right 
     after life and liberty among our God given nights.
       Laughter and liberty--they go well together.
       Have an interesting and rewarding career and a wonderful 
     and fulfilling life.
       Thank you for inviting me to share your class day. I now 
     have the best of both worlds: a Jesuit education and a 
     Harvard baseball cap!
       Take care.

                          ____________________