Column: Triumphant moment for Obama, Rutgers
He joked. He jabbed Trump. He called for help. The president embraced Rutgers on Sunday, and the grads loved it.
PISCATAWAY - For about 45 minutes, the leader of the free world stood in the end zone and delivered a commencement address that was one part stand-up comedy, one part political take-down and one part exhortation to make a difference.
By the end, as 10,000 graduates erupted in a wild standing ovation, there was little doubt: President Obama scored a touchdown at High Point Solutions Stadium on Sunday. So did Rutgers University.
"It was funny and it was definitely memorable," said Smeet Patel, a Manalapan resident who earned a degree in civil engineering. "To have the president come in and speak to us, that was special."
READ: Obama inspires at Rutgers graduation
This was more than a speech. It was a tour de force that will long resonate around these parts. The grads and most of the 50,000 who attended seemed to sense that, breaking into cheers often.
"It was the most memorable commencement speech I've ever heard," said Emily Allen-Hornblower, a Rutgers classics professor. "Really powerful, and I never felt like he gave off the vibe that he was checking his watch and ready to go."
Obama seemed to relish the moment. In the waning stage of his second term, a president is freed to speak more freely, to flash a little more personality, and Obama did both in abundance. He joked about students battling hangovers from a long night at Olde Queens Tavern and stuffing their faces with Fat Cat sandwiches from the neighborhood grease trucks.
READ: Obama speaks with Rutgers student-newspaper editor
"I come here for a simple reason — to finally settle this pork roll vs. Taylor ham question," Obama said to uproarious laughter. "There's not much I'm afraid to take on in my final year of office, but I know better than to get involved in that."
Then he pulled out a rhetorical frying pan and cranked up the heat Donald Trump, slamming the presumptive Republican presidential nominee's staples: "longing for the good old days," building a wall along the border with Mexico, singling out Muslims for scrutiny and taking an isolationist foreign policy posture.
Obama never mentioned Trump by name, but his references to the tycoon's rhetoric were obvious.
"It's not cool to not know what you're talking about," Obama said.
"I liked his jabs at some of the ignorance that is rampant in today's society," said mechanical engineering graduate Parth Patel, an Edison resident. "I'll take it with me through the rest of my life."
READ: Eric LeGrand meets Obama at graduation
Most graduation speeches are forgotten quickly. This won't be, especially because of the final stage of Obama's address, when a surprise example hammered home his message. Urging the grads to participate in the political process, he lamented the faculty pressure that prompted former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to decline an invitation to speak at Rutgers' 2014 commencement.
"I don't believe that's how democracy works best, when we're not willing to listen to each other," he said.
To his credit, Obama listened when Rutgers bombarded him with entreaties to visit the campus. He listened when 19-year-old Dan Corey, editor-in-chief of Rutgers' student newspaper The Daily Targum, asked for an interview. They spoke for 15 minutes by phone last week. He peppered Obama about the cost of higher education and job opportunities.
“When we talked for the first couple seconds, it was kind of informal,” Corey told Gannett New Jersey. “But once I asked a question, it was all business. I think he treated me like he would treat any other journalist, which I appreciated a lot.”
Just about everyone I spoke with Sunday — and there were dozens — appreciated Obama coming to Piscataway. This was a big deal for Rutgers on its 250th anniversary, and the grads justifiably were proud of their school.
"I'm so glad I took an extra year to graduate because I got to see the president," said Old Bridge's Alexa Wissner, a double-major in psychology and criminal justice.
Wissner, who transferred from Brookdale Community College and took five years to reach this day, wrote a fitting message on her cap's mortar board: "It always seems impossible until it's done."
It's done. The 44th president spoke here. Yes, the traffic was horrendous, forcing hordes of grads to park in New Brunswick before making a two-mile trek over the John Lynch Memorial Bridge in their flowing red gowns. A small sacrifice for a big moment.
"This is our last college lecture, and it's by the president of the United States," one of the walkers said to his friends. "That's pretty cool."
Carino's Corner appears Mondays. Contact Jerry Carino: jcarino@gannettnj.com