Address at Commencement Exercises at the University of Notre
Dame  May 17, 1981  Father Hesburgh, I thank you very much and
for so many things. The distinguished honor that you've
conferred upon me here today, I must say, however, compounds a
sense of guilt that I have nursed for almost 50 years. I thought
the first degree I was given was honorary. [Laughter] But it's
wonderful to be here today with Governor Orr, Governor Bowen,
Senators Lugar and Quayle, and Representative Hiler, these
distinguished honorees, the trustees, administration, faculty,
students, and friends of Notre Dame and, most important, the
graduating class of 1981.  Nancy and I are greatly honored to
share this day with you, and our pleasure has been more than
doubled because I am also sharing the platform with a longtime
and very dear friend, Pat O'Brien.  Pat and I haven't been able
to see much of each other lately, so I haven't had a chance to
tell him that there is now another tie that binds us together.
Until a few weeks ago I knew ver