Hampden-Sydney College Commencement

President Bortz; distinguished members of the faculty and board of trustees; proud, satisfied — and probably relieved — parents; guests; and — most importantly, of course — members of the Hampden-Sydney Class of 2004: thank you for your welcome and for the privilege of joining you on this memorable day. An especially emphatic thank-you to all of the mothers here today who are sharing their special day with us. I last attended a Hampden-Sydney commencement in 1997 when my son Chris graduated. I know that the parents of the young men we are about to recognize will relish this occasion just as Margaret and I did several years ago. Much has changed since that commencement day in 1997. That observation is at once obvious and quite substantive. In the late spring of 1997, we were at peace, or at least most Americans thought we were. The economy was doing extraordinarily well. Gross domestic product, which is the best measure of overall American economic activity, was growing at a healthy pace. After rising to alarming levels 17 or 18 years earlier, the inflation rate had declined to only about 2 percent. Partly because of this, interest rates had declined to levels not seen since the 1960s.