There are few things in this world more important to me than the President of the United States coming to my alma mater. Over the years, as a reporter, I covered Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Regan (he loved the place) and both Bushes. I also covered LBJ and Bill Cinton when they came to the area but not to Notre Dame.
So to miss Barack Obama with what promised to be the most important speech of the bunch was agonizing. But like I said some things are more important including the marriage of my son Matthew (ND class of 2006) on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. By the way it was a beautiful wedding, and there might be some bias here, I cannot recall ever seeing a more handsome bride and groom. That also explains my brief absence from these pages.

Still I got to see the speech. By now there no need to replay the entire scene. In brief some Catholics were aghast that Notre Dame would invite and give an honorary degree to someone who is pro-choice. Protesters came to town weeks in advance, a sad looking lot who had no class. Their leaders were clearly publicity hounds. There were legitimate protests, of course, Our Bishop turned down his usual invitation to commencement.

There were calls for Notre Dame President, Father John Jenkins, to rescind the invitation and I am willing to bet there were some at the White House who told the President he was walking into a beehive he could easily avoid. Neither Jenkins or Obama flinched. If Notre Dame had rescinded the invitation I think it had the potential to be a long term disaster for the University. I work a few days a week on campus and I can tell you that a large majority of the senior class, including many who did not vote for Obama, wanted this ceremony, with the President of the United States, to proceed.

And it did and it was possibly the finest moment for Notre Dame since I came here as a student in 1963.

I did get to watch the speech and at a most unusual place, a small bar in the Cincinnati airport where I had a layover. It was a sports bar with two televisions and neither television was tuned to a sporting event. Instead about a dozen patrons and three members of the staff where watching the speech and it was quiet. No one even ordered a beer. When Obama finished two members of the staff started applauding and one by one so did nearly all of the patrons. I have never seen anything like it.

Everywhere I go in South Bend, fair minded people are saying the same thing, Notre Dame and Barack Obama got it right.

I am especially pleased for Father Jenkins. He was eloquent in his remarks and he was willing to put his reputation on the line. In the audience was our former President Father Ted Hesburgh (who by the way is marking his 92 birthday as I write this). I admire Father Ted more than any person in my life. No Notre Dame President will ever transcend Father Ted. But from now on we should just call Jenkins “Father John” because he just put himself in Father Hesburgh’s pantheon.