It was announced Friday that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will be the commencement speaker at the George Washington University on May 15th, 2011.
GW Tweeps – especially recent alumni – were abuzz at the news:
“Way more legit than MObama RT @jasonlifton: Mike Bloomberg will be the 2011 Commencement Speaker at #GWU,” Phil Bianchi tweeted.
“Good for #GWU. Bloomberg confirmed as commencement speaker, nice,” tweeted former GW CR Chairman and PAF Chris Brooks.
“Great, Better than SJT,” added Jason Dumont.
“Julian Bond, Rahm Emmanuel, Michelle Obama, and now Michael Bloomberg. Been 5 years since #gwu has had a conservative speaker. It would be nice for parents to have a spkr that didn’t represent tax/spend lib policies, esp after 4 years of #gwu tuition,” tweeted Brandon Hines, Business School graduate and former GWCR Chairman.
Students’ reaction to the Bloomberg has been mixed, but mostly favorable. Some pointed out the fact that GW hasn’t had a conservative speaker since 2006 (George H.W. Bush). But Bloomberg has earned a reputation for pissing off both liberals and conservatives in New York and that makes him an intriguing choice.
Adding to the intrigue are whispers that Bloomberg is seriously considering challenging President Obama in the 2012 general election, potentially offering a third party candidacy even stronger than Ross Perot’s bid in 1992, especially with Bloomberg having the luxury of spending billions of his own personal fortune.
Will Frey and Dan Keylin blog at the GW Patriot. Frey is a member of the Student Free Press Association.
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