○  布什励志英语演讲稿  ○

ement speaker. I also know that you've carved out a single exception. Most people think that to speak at Yale's commencement, you have to be President. But over the years, the specifications have become far more demanding. Now you have to be a Yale graduate, you have to be President, and you have had to have lost the Yale vote to Ralph Nader. ( Applause.)

　　This is my first time back here in quite a while. I'm sure that each of you will make your own journey back at least a few times in your life. If you're like me, you won't remember everything you did here. (Laughter.) That can be a good thing. (Laughter.) But there will be some people, and some moments, you will never forget.

　　Take, for example, my old classmate, Dick Brodhead, the accomplished dean of this great university. (Applause.) I remember him as a young scholar, a bright lad -- (laughter) -- a hard worker. We both put a lot of time in at the Sterling Library, in the reading room, where they have those big leather couches. (Laughter.) We had a mutual understanding -- Dick wouldn't read aloud, and I wouldn't snore. (Laughter.)

　　Our course selections were different, as we followed our own path to academic discovery. Dick was an English major, and loved the classics. I loved history, and pursued a diversified course of study. I like to think of it as the academic road less traveled. (Laughter.)

　　For example, I took a class that studied Japanese Haiku. Haiku, for the uninitiated, is a 15th century form of poetry, each poem having 17 syllables. Haiku is fully understood only by the Zen masters. As I recall, one of my academic advisers was worried about my selection of such a specialized course. He said I should focus on English. (Laughter.) I still hear that quite often. ( Laughter.) But my critics don't realize I don't make verbal gaffes. I'm speaking in the perfect forms and rhythms of ancient Haiku. (Applause.)

　　I did take E

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