McCaskill: Be ready for setbacks

U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill used recent examples from her own life Saturday to demonstrate for Delta High School graduates that failing isn't always bad.

McCaskill delivered a commencement address to 19 graduating seniors and a gymnasium filled with family and friends. She urged the departing class to remain faithful to their family and religion, to seek a job they love and stick with it and to prepare themselves for setbacks in life.

The setbacks, she said, can lead to bigger and better opportunities later on.

"Having the guts and the courage to fail is an important part of success," McCaskill said. She briefly recounted her loss in the 2004 governor's race, a narrow defeat by Republican Matt Blunt after she had wrestled the Democratic Party nomination from incumbent Gov. Bob Holden.

"I thought I was going to be governor. And I stepped out there and ran a race, and I failed, and it hurt," McCaskill said. "And it was public. But after that, I somehow found myself in a place where I could run and become a U.S. senator. That is an example of where your willingness to fail can end up helping you soar."

In addition to her advice about striving for success, McCaskill told the graduates that they should consider carefully their choice of careers. Success isn't measured by a nice car, a nice home or a nice bank account, she said.

"It is really about whether you enjoy what you have chosen to do with your life, whether you wake up in the morning and you can't wait to get out of bed," she said.

Friend and supporter Ernie Brown of Delta requested that she give the commencement address.

The small graduating class made up in enthusiasm what it lacked in size. The class honors included $75,000 in scholarships, and they heard remarks from class salutatorian Tiffany Amelunke and valedictorian Albert "A.J." Horn.

Two graduating seniors, Dustin Anglin and Rick Hunter, were singled out for recognition that they will be joining the U.S. Navy immediately out of school, receiving ovations from the audience of about 400.

Asked afterward why they chose the military at a time of controversy over war, the two said they see service as their duty.

Anglin said he joined "because of all the opportunities to make the country better."

For Hunter, service in the Navy can be a way to show the world that "we aren't all 'fight first and ask questions later.'"

In an interview after her speech, McCaskill praised the two for choosing the Navy and promised to push for a foreign policy that doesn't waste their contribution. "What I want to do for those two young men in there today is I want to make sure that we are not wasting one precious life in a conflict that has no end, that is not making our country any safer in the long run."

Over recent weeks, McCaskill and the rest of the Senate have been wrestling with bills to fund the Iraq war effort through Sept. 30, the end of the federal fiscal year. President Bush vetoed a bill that set a timetable to begin withdrawing U.S. combat troops from Iraq. And the U.S. House last week passed a bill providing war funding in installments if the Iraqi government meets benchmark requirements.

The benchmarks included in the bill are those set out by Bush himself, McCaskill said. "All we are trying to do is put those words into some kind of form that has the force of law."

The Iraqi government must begin taking responsibility for providing security and must prove it is able to cope with tough political questions, she said. "We have got to begin to force the Iraqi government to take responsibility because if we don't, we are going to be there for 10 or 20 years," she said.

McCaskill said she will be leading a congressional delegation to Iraq to continue oversight of federal contractors and rebuilding efforts. The record shows that money is being wasted and contractors such as Halliburton are being given too much leniency, McCaskill said.

"We had a hearing a couple of weeks ago where the Department of Defense admitted to me that these companies, Halliburton, were doing a terrible job and we were giving them performance bonuses," she said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

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