Posted by
Corthell on Friday, May 15, 2009 9:55:47 AM
It's been 81 years since legendary coach Knute Rockne urged his players to "win one for the Gipper." But no Notre Dame football team ever faced a tougher challenge than President Obama does. Since he was invited by university president Father John Jenkins to give this year's commencement address, Obama has faced a growing wave of protest. Judging from the howls of some critics, you'd think the devil himself were presiding over this year's graduation.
Notre Dame is one of our great universities, and America's best Catholic university, but a bunch of small-minded, ignorant and intolerant religious zealots are trying to hijack it. At last count, 74 American bishops have refused to attend the ceremonies – because Obama happens to be pro-choice. For the same reason, over 350,000 people have signed online petitions in opposition. A handful of graduating seniors have vowed to boycott their own party. Alan Keyes, Obama's former Senate opponent in Illinois, and Randall Terry, head of Operation Rescue, have organized campus protests. And a small plane circles over the Notre Dame campus, towing a banner with the picture of an alleged aborted fetus. Happy Graduation!
The controversy is a monumental embarrassment to the university, the Catholic Church and the president of the United States. But it's also an opportunity for the university and the president, by not bowing to critics, to remind the world what a great university is all about.