When I found out that the Ragin’ Cajun and his wife (James Carville and Mary Matalin) were to be the commencement speakers at Pete’s Tulane Graduation, I was more than a little bit disappointed. I was missing my own graduation to support Pete, and had hoped I would be rewarded for my selfless devotion with a commencement address from someone of the calibur of say and Ellen Degeneres or a President Clinton (the two prior years speakers).
For those of you who do not know who Carville and Matalin are, professionally they were Clinton and Bush Sr.’s chief political advisors during their 1992 campaigns against each other. Clinton won, Carville won Campaign Manager of the Year and was featured in the Academy Award Nominated film The War Room. Matalin and Bush lost. Carville and Matalin were married a year later. Not your average love story.
For the commencement address, Matalin introduced Carville. At first she delivered the usual schtick highlighting their political differences before settling on sincerity and some of Carville’s words of wisdom that she wanted to pass along to the Class of 2008.
She talked about their struggle to conceive, and about a crises of faith she had when she learned she was pregnant with their second “Miracle Child”. She is an only child (like myself, a cruel cruel fate) and she was worried she wouldn’t have as much to give her second child. Which I know sounds horrifying to all well adjusted multi-siblinged and multi-child bearing individuals, but I assure you, that is a normal fear for us lonely onlys. It is hard to imagine loving two things more than anything in the world until you actually do. Carville, a well adjusted multi-siblinged human told her:
“Baby, love doesn’t abide.
It multiplies.
The more love you have,
the more you have to give”
Cue massive amounts of tears in the balcony from yours truly. When it was Carville’s turn to speak he talked about his career and following your passions, but finished by wishing that the members of the Class of 2008 found partners that challenged them and inspired them like they do each other.
Not quite what I was expecting.
Also not what I was expecting?
Their home in Alexandria.
It is just so much, well, PINKer than I expected.
And I love it!
The couple has since moved to New Orleans (I would just DIE to see what they did to their house in the French Quarter) so that Carville can serve on the faculty at Tulane.
But their fabulously exuberant PINK home still lives on in the pages of AD…I wonder what lucky family got to move into this happy house after them?
The Carville’s and their miracle babies, click on the link above to read the AD article in its entirety!
great, now I am crying!!