OK, we here at USDemocrazy are a little miffed. We were COMPLETELY snubbed by the world of academia… No one asked us to make a commencement speech! (And we have some great material worked up… Just saying…)
While being bitter about this snubbery, we have been keeping up with the speeches being made by President Obama at both the graduations of Arizona State University and the University of Notre Dame.
It’s a pretty big deal to get the president to speak at your commencement. This year there has been particular controversy surrounding speeches by Obama… not so much for the speeches’ content but for their context.
First, there was ASU… which decided not to award the President an honorary doctorate.
The traditional bargain at these events is: you speak at the commencement, the school hands you a nice degree as a token of appreciation. ASU cited the fact that Obama’s achievements as president are still unknown and therefore he doesn’t merit a degree just yet. (On the other hand, we have reached a pinnacle in our blogging career… Can we get one of those degree thingies?)
Then there was The Notre Dame graduation. There was dissent over the choice of Obama for the commencement speaker. The point of contention was The President’s view on abortionwhich varies from that espoused by the Vatican. Student activists protested meanwhile, the Vatican has adopted a “Mum’s the word!” policy on the situation.
Speaking of the abortion debate, it’s worth noting that Obama lifted a ban that restricted federal money from going to groups that perform or endorse abortions. This the Vatican had some very strong words for…
Yet, Obama decided to bring up the elephant in the room when making his address, saying:
So let us work together to reduce the number of women seeking abortions. Let’s reduce unintended pregnancies. Let’s make adoption more available. Let’s provide care and support for women who do carry their children to term.
And, as should be expected, there were some jeers from the audience. But, a seasoned politician, Obama took them in stride.
That’s a lot of controversy over one speech. But, that seems to be the game of politics. (That’s why we like to be bystanders.)
If you’re interested in all that Obama said, here’s a transcript, and here’s video.
And now we get to wait for this weekend’s address by Obama to the Naval Academy while hoping everything goes smoothly, for once.
