By Tom Weber, KWMU
St. Louis, MO – Democrat Nancy Pelosi was in St. Louis Saturday to give her first commencement speech since becoming Speaker of the U.S. House.
She offered the usual congratulations to the more than 1,200 graduates of Webster University in attendance.
Her 12-minute speech also kept to an anti-war theme. "The young people I met in my travels abroad are weary of war," she declared. "They want an end to violence, whether it's in Iraq, or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, or the genocide in Darfur.
"They, as I'm sure you do, want to know if their leaders have the political courage to make the decisions necessary for peace."
Pelosi added that other nations still look to the U.S. for leadership; and the country must respond with respect, not condescension.
Pelosi got a warm reception from the crowd at the Edward Jones Dome; one student even scored a photo with the Speaker during the procession to the stage.
Webster University also has a number of satellite campuses on military bases, and Pelosi repeatedly paid respect to the military, but stuck to her theme, as well: "We honor our patriotic men and women in uniform but we have a responsibility to avoid war."