Matthew Mugmon: The politics of a vice presidential visit

If the vice president came to your house for a party, would you stick around?

Apparently, University President Judith Rodin had a difficult time answering that question.

Dick Cheney will be speaking at a closed ceremony on campus next Friday morning to honor Jon Huntsman, who donated $40 million for the new building that bears his name.

And on a schedule obtained this week by The Daily Pennsylvanian, Rodin isn't on the list of speakers. It would be a shame if Rodin, who welcomed then-Vice President Al Gore to Penn for ENIAC's 50th birthday in 1996, at any point considered skipping out on the highlight of Huntsman Hall dedication weekend.

Her Democratic ties are no secret -- and that she may have planned on avoiding the Cheney event for political reasons is even more troubling than if she just didn't realize how inappropriate and disrespectful it would be to shun the vice president of the United States.

Rodin is nowhere to be found in the "Private Building Dedication" part of the schedule. It says that Wharton Dean Patrick Harker will introduce Latter Days Saints Church President Gordon Hinckley, followed by donor Jon Huntsman's wife Karen. She'll then introduce Cheney, who, after a 15-minute address, will be replaced on stage by Trustees Chairman James Riepe. The schedule stipulates that Riepe "introduces self, thanks all speakers (especially Cheney)" and "then asks Jon Huntsman to the stage" and presents "the portrait" to him.

After Huntsman speaks, Harker will close out the ceremony, and "While Vice President Dick Cheney is available, photos are taken at this time with Jon and other speakers and" -- of course -- "the portrait."

At the "VIP Building Preview Gala" the evening before -- whose goal, the schedule says, is "To honor all donors of the building and to provide our VIP's with a 'preview' of the entire facility"-- Rodin will give an address from 7:19 to 7:24 p.m. and then introduce Huntsman.

The afternoon of the Cheney ceremony -- after the "Individual Donor Room dedications" from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. -- is one of the few "open" events on the schedule. It's the "Public Building Dedication." Gear up for this one, because everyone's invited -- "All Penn/Wharton community" members, at least. The schedule has Rodin slated to speak from 5:25 to 5:40 p.m., and, once again, to introduce Huntsman, who will talk for 10 minutes. After that, "All gather around Jon Huntsman as he cuts the ribbon. Photos are taken." Don't forget to bring your camera -- you know, for "the portrait."

Wharton spokeswoman Meghan Laska told me yesterday that Rodin will, in fact, be speaking at the Friday morning event with the vice president.

Odd, then, that Rodin's not listed among the speakers on that schedule, even though she is slated to honor "all" donors the evening before and to personally introduce Huntsman during Friday afternoon's public ceremony.

And calling the Cheney visit merely a "Huntsman" event and not a "Penn" event is grossly misleading. After all, the schedule has Wharton's own dean and the head of the University Trustees on the catalog for Friday morning.

Rodin did not return calls for comment yesterday on whether or not she had at any time considered not attending. But according to University spokeswoman Lori Doyle, "It was always her intention to attend the event." Doyle added that given the volatility of Rodin's schedule, the possibility that a conflict could have existed at some point in time would not be at all surprising.

Well, I can't even begin to imagine what kind of scheduling conflict could, at any time in Rodin's mind, have trumped a campus visit by the vice president of the United States.

If Rodin really is planning to speak and always has been, then why, at some point, was her name off the Friday morning schedule but on the list for two other dedication events next weekend?

Well, there is, of course, the fact that the vice president's a Republican -- arguably the most important Republican campaigner on the trail these days.

Five years ago, Rodin made time to introduce Chinese President Jiang Zemin -- a leader with a human rights record that's, well, less than stellar. "We welcome you for this historic occasion," she told him.

During Gore's visit in 1996, Rodin introduced him and gave him a Penn Medal for Distinguished Achievement.

And in October of 1997, the University's Almanac pictures Rodin presenting a Penn sweatshirt to Hillary Clinton during her visit for the 10th anniversary of the Trustees' Council of Penn Women.

According to opensecrets.org, a Web site that gets its data from Federal Election Commission filings, Rodin logged two donations of $250 each last year to Democratic Congressman Chaka Fattah of Philadelphia. From May 13 of this year, the site notes a $1,000 gift to western Pennsylvania Democrat John Murtha.

In 1999, Rodin was one of the members of incoming Democratic Mayor John Street's transition team.

She also served on President Clinton's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology.

Yes, election day is less than two week's after Cheney's visit.

But let's not let Rodin forget one thing: Cheney is the vice president. And if you're a college president and the vice president comes to your campus, you had better not think twice about being there for pictures with him -- and for "the portrait," of course.

Matthew Mugmon is a senior Classical Studies major from Columbia, Md., and executive editor of The Daily Pennnsylvanian .

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