Aside from the commencement address…
…some of the arguments over the Notre Dame controversy are raising a point in defense of the president that raises a different question.
I’ve seen it and heard it in several commentaries that defend Notre Dame’s invitation to President Obama. Here it is in RealClearPolitics. Let’s isolate it from that commencement address issue for a moment and consider it on its merits:
The office of the president has meaning and importance that transcend the views of its current occupant. Though elected by a part of America, the president becomes a symbol of its whole. The respect we accord him does not imply agreement or endorsement. It reflects our appreciation for constitutional processes. So a presidential visit is always an honor. The televised arrival of Air Force One, the motorcade, the playing of “Hail to the Chief,” the audience standing as the president enters — all these express a proper respect for democratic legitimacy.
If you cannot honor the man, then honor the office. If you cannot honor the office, then one more democratic bond has been severed.
Question is, where was this argument…and this honor…when President Bush was in the office? Is this respect for the office of the presidency relative to who may be holding it at the moment?
Just wondering.
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I completely agree. It always irked me when those who didn’t agree with President Bush didn’t at least respect the office. I, however, am having a hard time respecting the office I think because I don’t believe President Obama respects the office.
“Honor the office.”
‘kay. Now tell me what sort of sense it makes to bestow an
honorary doctorate of law on the *office* of the President.
I think after 9-11, most Americans not only honored the office of the president but the president himself. In fact after 9-11 the entire world was with this president. While some preotested George Bush speaking at Notre Dame, it was a small fringe of the population. And whenever George Bush walked into a room, people still stood.
I agree that the president is elected by a part of our population, and becomes a symbol of the whole. I do not agree that when the symbol that the president stands for is death of unborn children that we should honor him when we stand in opposition to that symbol. Where does Notre Dame stand in regards to this?