Strategery
I want Universities to become centers of protest and political engagement again, as much as the next guy, and I would be in total agreement of the content if my graduation speaker used the occasion to criticize President Bush. So there's a part of me that is thrilled that the novelist E.L. Doctorow decided to do just that at the Hofstra University commencement. But, these days I'm kind of into winning. It's pretty much become essential. That's going to require a little persuasion. And I'm more and more convinced that protests of this sort are usually counter-productive. It would seem that "undecided," non-partisan types do not enjoy the confrontation. Indeed, Doctorow was roundly booed, making the entire event, apparently, quite unpleasant. No doubt, those same persuadable voters will blame the speaker for introducing the controversial topic at such an event, and not the booers for causing a scene.

It may feel good to vent in front of a crowd, and they may even need to hear it. But it feels like a losing strategy; I doubt you convince a single person that way. Am I wrong about this? Or doth we protest too much?