As some here may've noticed, I am a proud alumnus of the University of Notre Dame du Lac. My father, a subway alum, took me to many ND games while I was growing up in Chicagoland. I served as a student mgr for the 1977 National Champions, and I played a minor role in a great moment in program history when I placed green jerseys in the players' lockers while they were warming up for the USC game.
To this day, the best group of friends I've ever had came from my undergrad days. Last fall, we commemorated turning 50 by having a reunion w/e and attending a game. While we are widely scattered geographically, we still stay in fairly close touch via e-mail. My son has autographed photos of Charlie Weis and Mike Brey (men's BB coach) on his wall, and there will be 4 players from my daughter's HS on football scholarships at ND this fall.
Given my admittedly childlike devotion to my alma mater, I'm taken aback by the organized campaign that has arisen in opposition to the announcement that Pres. Obama will be this year's commencement speaker. The local bishop, John D'Arcy recently announced that he will be boycotting the event. Yesterday, as Bob Johnson noted here, Cardinal George of Chicago called the invitation "an extreme embarrassment." An online petition campaign opposing the invitation now claims over 200,000 signatures.
This firestorm has, of course developed solely b/c of 1 issue. Pres. Obama has not initiated a "pre-emptive war," nor has his WH expressly authorized the use of torture. Before getting elected POTUS, he didn't routinely approve executions w/o taking much time to review the commutation petiitions, nor did he make fun of a condemned inmate in an interview. It has developed b/c of Obama's position on abortion.
My views on abortion are far more nuanced and conflicted than those of the vast majority of Kossacks, but I do not wish to see this thread hijacked on that subject. Instead, I would like to note the utter hypocrisy of the opposition to Obama speaking this year when similar opposition did not arise towards Pres. Reagan's commencement speech in 1981.
There were those on our side of the political spectrum who protested Reagan's invitation. The protestors, however, were not that numerous, and they did not include any members of the Church hierarchy. I don't recall anyone raising the fact that newly elected Gov. Reagan signed a major abortion liberalization bill into law in 1967.
This obvious double standard undercuts the core arguments of D'Arcy, George, notredamescandal.com, and all the others. Like it or not, a major hero of many of the same people who are up in arms about the Obama invitation approved a law that led to about 2 million abortions being performed in CA. That fact has been conveniently swept under the rug over the years, and it was never raised at the time.
Reagan was not, of course, the only president w/ a mixed abortion record to speak at a Notre Dame commencement. George HW Bush supported birth control during his 4 years in the House in the late 1960s. No issues were raised about his speaking at commencement.
I know from personal experience that current, future, and former presidents appearing at Notre Dame is not the least bit unusual. In the spring of 1977, Carter was commencement speaker. In the fall of 1979, I covered a Gerald Ford press conference for the student radio station during his AEI-sponsored campus visit. About 4 mos later, I was in a small group setting w/ GWB when he came to stump for his father at the Notre Dame Mock Political Convention. I chaired the FL delegation, and he came by to spend 15 minutes w/ our caucus. I came away from the meeting thinking that W was either not that bright or not that honest--a view that subsequent events clearly confirmed.
In sum, I am basically at a loss to understand this controversy. Obama clearly differs w/ Church teachings on abortion. Guess what--when it really mattered, Reagan did, too. GHWB temporized at best on the issue. Those who are raising the great hue and cry about a purported "scandal" and "embarrassment" at my alma mater ought to read a little history and gain a little perspective.
UDPATE: I called the office of university prez Fr. Jenkins yesterday to express my support for his decision. The woman who took my call seemed almost thrilled to be receiving a call of support. I got the distinct impression that the calls are running heavily in the opposite direction.