Commencements on C-SPAN

May 22, 2012

It is commencement season and once again C-SPAN is televising interesting commencement addresses from around the country. Watch over Memorial Day weekend for 2012 commencement addresses. If you miss any you can watch them all in the C-SPAN Video Library where you can you find 608 speeches from previous years. Browse and listen. Clip and share. It is all at your fingertips and free. Find the commencements here.

Romney and Obama Commencement Addresses

May 17, 2012

On a recent weekend, both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama delivered commencement addresses at Liberty University and Barnard College, respectively. Dan Henninger, columnist for the Wall Street Journal, wrote a column on these two addresses titled, “A Tale of Two Commencements.” He argued that each speech reveals a view of the world by the two presidential candidates. Watch the Romney speech and the Obama speech, read the column, and see if you agree. C-SPAN and the C-SPAN Video Library allows you to see the candidates in their own words.

Liberty University

May 12, 2012

Liberty University in Lynchberg Virginia has been a forum for many conservative speeches. Mitt Romney is the latest to speak to the students there when he delivered the 2012 Spring commencement address. Moderate presidential candidates often appear to burnish their conservative credentials. President George H. W. Bush spoke in 1990, John McCain in 2006, and Rick Perry in 2011 all spoke. Other conservative speakers over the years include Oliver North, Justice Thomas, Michele Bachmann, and Karl Rove. See all the speeches here

Dick Clark on C-SPAN

April 27, 2012

No, Dick Clark never appeared on C-SPAN. There is no American Bandstand or New Year’s at Times Square in the Video Library. However, Rep. David Dreier (R-CA), a personal friend of Dick Clark, gave a tribute to the late entertainer on the House floor.

It is not unusual for Members of Congress to give tributes to famous personalities. One personality, Bob Hope, had a premature tribute when his death was mistakenly announced on the House floor, June 5, 1998. Hope did not die until July 27, 2003. You can watch this premature announcement here.

You can search the Video Library for many other tributes to personalities, sports teams, outstanding students, and fallen soldiers that members deliver on the House and Senate floor.

White House Correspondents’ Dinner

Tune in to C-SPAN to watch the 2012 White House Correspondents’ Dinner. President Obama and entertainer Jimmy Kimmel will speak. If you miss it, you can always view it in the C-SPAN Video Library where you will find previous years dinners. They are always entertaining although some jokes do get groans. It is an annual Spring Washington event. C-SPAN also shows the arrivals, the glitterati, and scenes outside some associated parties. The C-SPAN Video Library is your source for political entertainment.