Obama's Notre Dame Touchdown
When the University of Notre Dame invited Barack Obama to address graduates at the May 17 commencement, both the school and the White House knew there would be protests. Right-wing Catholics demanded that Notre Dame rescind the invitation and descended on the campus when it did not. The day of the speech was marked by blood-covered baby dolls, a fulminating Alan Keyes and graduates with cutouts of baby feet on their mortarboards. Obama responded to the furor with an address about how to deal with disagreement in a democratic society. "We must find a way to live together as one human family," said Obama. "Our very survival has never required greater cooperation." Pope Benedict XVI declined to weigh in on the controversy, and three-quarters of American Catholics surveyed thought it was no big deal.