Yesterday my Connecticut-born friend Ina learned that I graduated from Yale, and she asked me whether I was glad to have gone there. Without reservation I said yes. But I amazed myself by the vehemence with which I added, “…until Yale gave George W. Bush that honorary degree in 2001.” I devoted the 250 words of my 40th class reunion essay [posted earlier] to expressing my chagrin at the recognition Bush received from Yale at the 2001 commencement. One would think that I might have gotten over it by now.
I admit that I already despised Bush so thoroughly that I was not open to any evidence that he might be any good at all. I could interpret anything I might hear as evidence to the contrary. Rather like someone who, say, believed that the Bible—written, selected, edited and translated by men—is nevertheless in its entirety the inspired word of God and who was able to apply hermeneutics to cleverly explain away any apparent contradiction in it, either of internal inconsistency or of disagreement with what the believer wanted to discover God to have said.
But, in fact, our Sham-President Bush has done a good deal more since then not only to validate my opinion, but also to bring many others to a similar view. The reason I’m writing to you is to try to find out whether you have any estimate of the percentage of Yale graduates who now seem to believe that even if the honorary degree wasn’t that terribly big a mistake on Yale’s part in 2001, it has come now to seem a very foolish bestowal indeed?
And would you tell me how much money changed hands if Bush’s cronies purchased the honorary degree? I’m not sure which I’d prefer not to be true: that Yale administrators sold the honor or that they actually believed Bush worthy of it.
Grateful for your expected reply, I am sincerely yours....
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