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President Obama Gives Commencement Address at University of Notre Dame Amid Anti-Abortion Protests

Aired May 17, 2009 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

REV. JOHN JENKINS, PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME: Most of the debate has centered on Notre Dame's decision to invite and honor the president. Less attention has been focused on the president's decision to accept.

(APPLAUSE)

JENKINS: President Obama has come to Notre Dame, though he knows full well that we are fully supportive of the church teachings -- church's teachings on the sanctity of human life and that we oppose his policies on abortion and embryonic stem cell research.

(APPLAUSE)

JENKINS: Others might have avoided this venue for that reason. But President Obama is not someone who stops talking to those who differ with him.

(APPLAUSE)

JENKINS: Mr. President, this is a principle we share.

(APPLAUSE)

JENKINS: As the fathers of the Second Vatican Council wrote in their pastoral constitution, Gadium Et Spes, "Respect and love ought to be extended also to those who think or act differently than we do in social, political and even religious matters. In fact, the more deeply we come to understand their ways of thinking through such courtesy and love, the more easily will we be able to enter into dialogue with them."

If we want to extend courtesy, respect and love and enter into dialogue, then surely we can start by acknowledging what is honorable in others.

We welcome President Obama to Notre Dame and we honor him for the qualities and accomplishments the American people admired in him when they elected him.

(APPLAUSE)

JENKINS: He is a man who grew up without a father, whose family was fed for a time with the help of food stamps, yet who mastered the most rigorous academic challenges, who turned his back on wealth to serve the poor, who sought the presidency at a young age against long odds and who, on the threshold of his goal, left the campaign to go to the bedside of his dying grandmother who helped raise him.

He is a leader who has great respect for the role of faith and religious institutions in public life. He has said, "Secularists are wrong when they ask believers to leave their religion at the door before entering the public square." He is the first African-American to be elected president, yet his appeal powerfully transcends race.

(APPLAUSE)

JENKINS: In a country that has been deeply wounded by racial hatred, he has been a healer. He has had ambitious goals across a sweeping agenda extending health care coverage to the millions who don't have it, improving education, especially those -- for those who most need it, and promoting renewable energy for the sake of our economy, our security and our climate.

(APPLAUSE)

JENKINS: He has declared the goal of a world without nuclear weapons and has begun arms reduction talks with the Russians.

(APPLAUSE)

JENKINS: He has pledged to accelerate America's fight against poverty, to reform immigration to make it more humane, and to advance America's merciful work in fighting disease in the poorest places on earth.

(APPLAUSE)

JENKINS: As commander-in-chief and as chief executive, he embraces with confidence both the burdens of leadership and the hopes of the country.

Ladies and gentlemen, the president of the United States.

(APPLAUSE)

PRES. BARACK OBAMA, UNITED STATES: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Notre Dame. Thank you. Thank you. Please, have a seat. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Thank you so much. Please, have a seat. Thank you.

Well, first of all, congratulations class of 2009.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Congratulations to all the parents, the cousins ...

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: ... the aunts, the uncles, all the people who helped to bring you to the point that you are here today. Thank you so much to Father Jenkins for that extraordinary introduction, even though you said what I want to say much more elegantly.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: You are doing an extraordinary job as president of this extraordinary institution. And ...

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Your continued and courageous and contagious commitment to honest, thoughtful dialogue is an inspiration to us all.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Good afternoon to Father Hesburgh, to Notre Dame trustees, to faculty, to family.

I am honored to be here today. And ...

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: And I am grateful to all of you for allowing me to be a part of your graduation. And I also want to thank you for the honorary degree that I received. I know it has not been without controversy. I don't know if you're aware of this, but these honorary degrees are apparently pretty hard to come by.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: So far, I'm only 1 for 2 as president.

(LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Father Hesburgh is 150 for 150.

(LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: I guess that's better. So, Father Ted, after the ceremony, maybe you can give me some pointers to boost my average.

I also want to congratulate the class of 2009 for all your accomplishments and since this is Notre Dame, I mean ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Abortion is murder! (INAUDIBLE)

(CROWD BOOING)

OBAMA: That's all right. And since ...

(CROWD CHANTING)

OBAMA: We're fine, everybody. We are following Brennan's adage that we don't do things easily.

(LAUGHTER) OBAMA: We're not going to shy away from things that are uncomfortable sometimes. Now, since ...

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Since this is Notre Dame, I think we should talk not only about your accomplishments in the classroom but also in the competitive arena.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: No, don't worry. I'm not going to talk about that.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: We all know about this university's proud and storied football team. But I also hear that Notre Dame holds the largest outdoor five- on-five basketball tournament in the world -- Bookstore Basketball.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Now this excites me.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: I want to congratulate the winners of this year's tournament, a team by the name of "Hallelujah Holla Back."

(LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Congratulations. Well done. Though I have to say I'm personally disappointed that the "Barack O'Ballers" did not pull it out this year.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: So next year, if you need a 6'2" forward with a decent jumper, you know where I live.

(LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Now every one of you should be proud of what you've achieved at this institution. One hundred sixty-three classes of Notre Dame graduates have sat where you sit today. Some were here during years that simply rolled into the next without much notice or fanfare -- periods of relative peace and prosperity that required little by way of sacrifice or struggle.

You, however, are not getting off that easy. You have a different deal. Your class has come of age at a moment of great consequence for our nation and for the world -- a rare inflection point in history where the size and scope of the challenges before us require that we remake our world to renew its promise; that we align our deepest values and commitments to the demands of a new age. It's a privilege and a responsibility afforded to few generations -- and a task that you are now called to fulfill. This generation, your generation, is the one that must find a path back to prosperity and decide how we respond to a global economy that left millions behind even before the most recent crisis hit -- an economy where greed and short-term thinking were too often rewarded at the expense of fairness and diligence and an honest day's work. Your generation ...

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Your generation must decide how to save God's creation from a changing climate that threatens to destroy it. Your generation must seek peace at a time when there are those who will stop at nothing to do us harm, and weapons in the hands of a few can destroy the many. And we must find a way to reconcile our ever-shrinking world with this ever growing diversity -- diversity of thought, diversity of culture and diversity of belief.

In short, we must find a way to live together as one human family. And ...

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: And it's this last one challenge that I'd like to talk about today, despite the fact that Father John stole all my best lines.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: For the major threats we face in the 21st century -- whether it's global recession or violent extremism, the spread of nuclear weapons or pandemic disease -- these things do not discriminate. They do not recognize borders. They do not see color. They do not target specific ethnic groups.

Moreover, no one person or religion or nation can meet these challenges alone. Our very survival has never required greater cooperation and greater understanding among all people from all places than at this moment in history.

Unfortunately, finding that common ground, recognizing that our fates are tied up as Dr. King said, in a "single garment of destiny" -- is not easy. And part of the problem, of course, lies in the imperfections of man -- our selfishness, our pride, our stubbornness, our inquisitiveness, our insecurities, our egos; all the cruelties large and small that those of us in the Christian tradition understand to be rooted in original sin.

We too often seek advantage over others. We cling to outworn prejudice and fear those who are unfamiliar. Too many of us view life only through the lens of immediate self-interest and crass materialism; in which the world is necessarily a zero-sum game. The strong too often dominate the weak, and too many of those with wealth and with power find all matter of justification for their own privilege in the face of poverty and injustice.

And so, for all our technological and scientific advances, we see here in this country and around the globe violence and want and strife that would seem sadly familiar to those in ancient times. We know these things; and hopefully, one of the benefits of the wonderful education that you've received here at Notre Dame is that you've had time to consider these wrongs in the world; perhaps recognized impulses in yourself that you want to leave behind. You've grown determined each in your own way to right them.

And yet, one of the vexing things for those of us interested in promoting greater understanding and cooperation among people is the discovery that even bringing together persons of good will, bringing together men and women of principle and purpose -- even accomplishing that can be difficult. The soldier and the lawyer may both love this country with equal passion and yet reach very different conclusions on the specific steps needed to protect us from harm. The gay activist and the evangelical pastor may both deplore the ravages of HIV/AIDS, but find themselves unable to bridge the cultural divide that might unite their efforts.

Those who speak out against stem cell research may be rooted in an admirable conviction about the sacredness of life, but so are the parents of a child with juvenile diabetes who are convinced that their son's or daughter's hardships might be relieved.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: The question then -- the question then is how do we work through these conflicts? Is it possible for us to join hands in common effort? As citizens of a vibrant and varied democracy, how do we engage in vigorous debate? How do each of us remain firm in our principles and fight for what we consider right, without, as Father John said, demonizing those with just as strongly held convictions on the other side?

And, of course, nowhere do these questions come up more powerfully than on the issue of abortion.

As I considered the controversy surrounding my visit here, I was reminded of an encounter I had during my Senate campaign, one that I described in a book I wrote called "The Audacity of Hope." And a few days after the Democratic nomination, I received an e-mail from a doctor who told me that while he voted for me in the Illinois primary, he had a serious concern that might prevent him from voting for me in the general election.

He described himself as a Christian who was strongly pro-life -- but that was not what was preventing him from voting for me. What bothered the doctor was an entry my campaign staff had posted on my Web site, an entry that said I would fight, quote, "right-wing ideologues who want to take away a woman's right to choose," unquote.

The doctor said he had assumed a was a reasonable person, he supported my policy initiatives to help the poor and to lift up our educational system, but that if I truly believed that every pro-life individual was simply an ideologue who wanted to inflict suffering on women, then I was not very reasonable. He wrote, "I do not ask at this point that you oppose abortion, only that you speak about this issue in fair- minded words." Fair-minded words. After I head the doctor's letter, I wrote back to him and thanked him. And I didn't change my underlying position but I did tell my staff to change the words on my Web site. And I said a prayer that night that I might extend the same presumption of good faith to others that the doctor had extended to me. Because when we do that -- when we open up our hearts and minds to those who may not think precisely like we do or believe precisely what we believe, that's when we discover at least the possibility of common ground.

That's when we begin to say, "Maybe we won't agree on abortion, but we can still agree that this heart-wrenching decision for any woman is not made casually, it has both spiritual and moral dimensions."

So let us work together to reduce the number of women seeking abortions. Let's reduce the number of unintended pregnancy.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Let's make adoption more available.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Let's provide care and support for women who do carry their children to term.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Let's honor the conscience of those who disagree with abortion and draft a sensible conscience clause and make sure that all of our health care policies are grounded not only in sound science but also in clear ethics, as well as respect for the equality of women. Those are things we can do.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Now, understand -- understand, class of 2009, I do not suggest that the debate surround abortion can or should go away. Because no matter how much we may want to fudge it -- indeed while we know that the views of most Americans on the subject are complex and even contradictory -- the fact is that at some level the views of the two camps are irreconcilable. Each side will continue to make its case to the public with passion and conviction. But surely we can do so without reducing those with differing views to caricature.

Open hearts. Open minds. Fair-minded words. It's a way of life that has always been the Notre Dame tradition.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Father Hesburgh has long spoken of this institution as both a lighthouse and a crossroads. A lighthouse that stands apart, shining with the wisdom of the Catholic tradition, while the crossroads is where differences of culture and religion and conviction can co-exist with friendship, civility, hospitality and especially love. And I want to join him and Father John in saying how inspired I am by the maturity and responsibility with which this class has approached the debate surrounding today's ceremony. You are an exemplar of what Notre Dame is about.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Now this tradition of cooperation and understanding is one that I learned in my own life many years ago -- also with the help of the Catholic Church.

You see, I was not raised in a particularly religious household, but my mother instilled in me a sense of service and empathy that eventually led me to become a community organizer after I graduated college. And a group of Catholic churches in Chicago helped fund an organization known as the Developing Communities Project, and we worked to lift up South Side neighborhoods that had been devastated when the local steel plant closed.

And it was quite an eclectic crew of Catholic and Protestant churches, Jewish and African-American organizers, working class black, white and Hispanic residents -- all of us with different experiences, all of us with different beliefs. But all of us learned to work side by side because all of us saw in these neighborhoods other human beings who needed our help -- to find jobs and improve schools. We were bound together in the service of others.

And something else happened during the time I spent in these neighborhoods -- perhaps because the church folks I worked with were so welcoming and understanding; perhaps because they invited me to their services and sang with me from their hymnals; perhaps because I was really broke and they fed me.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: Perhaps because I witnessed all of the good works their faith inspired them to perform, I found myself drawn not just to the work with the church, I was drawn to be in the church. It was through the service that I was brought to Christ.

And at the time Cardinal Joseph Bernadin was the archbishop of Chicago.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: And for those of you -- for those of you too young to have known him or known of him, he was a kind and good and wise man. A saintly man. I can still remember him speaking at one of the first organizing meetings I attended on the South Side. He stood, as both a lighthouse and a crossroads -- unafraid to speak his mind on moral issues ranging from poverty and AIDS and abortion to the death penalty and nuclear war. And yet, he was congenial and gentle in his persuasion, always trying to bring people together, always trying to find common ground.

Just before he died, a reporter asked Cardinal Bernadin about this approach to his ministry. And he said, "You can't really get on with preaching the gospel until you've touched hearts and minds."

My heart and mind were touched by him. They were touched by the words and deeds of the men and women I worked alongside in parishes across Chicago. And I'd like to think that we touched the hearts and minds of the neighborhood families whose lives we helped change. For this, I believe, is our highest calling.

Now you, class of 2009, are about to enter the next phase of your life at a time of great uncertainty. You'll be called to help restore a free market that is also fair to all who are willing to work. You'll be called to seek new sources of energy that can save our planet; to give future generations the same chance that you have to receive an extraordinary education.

And whether as a person drawn to public service or simply someone who insists on being an active citizen, you will be exposed to more opinions and ideas broadcast through more means of communication than ever existed before. You'll hear talking heads scream on cable, and you'll read blogs that claim definitive knowledge, and you will watch politicians pretend they know what they're talking about.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: Occasionally, you may have the great fortune of actually seeing important issues debated by people who do know what they are talking about -- by well-intentioned people with brilliant minds and mastery of the facts. In fact, I suspect that some of you will be among those brightest stars.

And in this world of competing claims about what is right and what is true, have confidence in the values with which you've been raised and educated. Be unafraid to speak your mind when those values are at stake. Hold firm to your faith and allow it to guide you on your journey. In other words, stand as a lighthouse.

But remember, too, that you can be crossroads. Remember, too, that the ultimate irony of faith is that it necessarily emits doubt. It's the belief in things not seen, it's beyond our capacity as human beings to know with certainty what God has planned for us or what he asks of us. And those of us who believe must trust that His wisdom is greater than our own.

And this doubt should not push us away our faith. But it should humble us. It should temper our passions, cause us to be wary of too much self-righteousness. It should compel us to remain open and curious and eager to continue the spiritual and moral debate that began for so many of you within the walls of Notre Dame.

And within our vast democracy, this doubt should remind us even as we cling to our faith to persuade through reason, through an appeal whenever we can to universal rather than parochial principles, and most of all through an abiding example of good works and charity and kindness and service that moves hearts and minds.

For if there is one law that we can be most certain of, it is the law that binds people of all faiths and no faith together. It's no coincidence that it exists in Christianity and Judaism; in Islam and Hinduism; in Buddhism and humanism. It is, of course, the Golden Rule -- the call to treat one another as we wish to be treated; the call to love; the call to serve; to do what we can to make a difference in the lives of those with whom we share the same brief moment on this earth.

So many of you at Notre Dame -- by the last count, upwards of 80 percent -- have lived this law of love through the service you've performed at schools and hospitals; international relief agencies and local charities. Brennan is just one example of what your class has accomplished. That's incredibly impressive, a powerful testament to this institution.

(APPLAUSE)

And now, you must carry the tradition forward. Make it a way of life. Because when you serve, it doesn't just improve your community, it makes you a part of your community. It breaks down walls; it fosters cooperation. And when that happens, when people set aside their differences, even for a moment, to work in common effort toward a common goal; when they struggle together, and sacrifice together, and learn from one another, then all things are possible.

After all, I stand here today, as President and as an African- American, on the 55th anniversary of the day that the Supreme Court handed down the decision in Brown v. Board of Education. Now, Brown was of course the first major step in dismantling the "separate but equal" doctrine, but it would take a number of years and a nationwide movement to fully realize the dream of civil rights for all of God's children. There were freedom rides and lunch counters and billy clubs. There was also a Civil Rights Commission appointed by President Eisenhower. It was the 12 resolutions recommended by this commission that would ultimately become law in the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

There were six members of this commission. It included five whites and one African American; Democrats and Republicans; two Southern governors, the dean of a Southern law school, a Midwestern university president, and your own Father Ted Hesburgh, President of Notre Dame.

(APPLAUSE)

So, they worked for two years, and at times, President Eisenhower had to intervene personally since no hotel or restaurant in the South would serve the black and white members of the commission together. And finally, when they reached an impasse in Louisiana, Father Ted flew them all to Notre Dame's retreat in Land O'Lakes, Wisconsin...

(APPLAUSE)

...where they eventually overcame their differences and hammered out a final deal.

And years later, President Eisenhower asked Father Ted how on Earth he was able to broker an agreement between men of such different backgrounds and beliefs. And Father Ted simply said that during their first dinner in Wisconsin, they discovered they were all fishermen.

(LAUGHTER) And so he quickly readied a boat for a twilight trip out on the lake. And they fished, and they talked, and they changed the course of history.

Now, I will not pretend that the challenges we face will be easy, or that the answers will come quickly, or that all our differences and divisions will fade happily away -- because life is not that simple. It never has been.

But, as you leave here today, remember the lessons of Cardinal Bernardin, of Father Hesburgh, of movements for change both large and small. Remember that each of us, endowed with the dignity possessed by all children of God, has the grace to recognize ourselves in one another; to understand that we all seek the same love of family, the same fulfillment of a life well lived. Remember that in the end, in some way we are all fishermen. If nothing else, that knowledge should give us faith that through our collective labor, and God's providence, and our willingness to shoulder each other's burdens, America will continue on its precious journey towards that more perfect union.

Congratulations, Class of 2009. May God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America.

(APPLAUSE)

WHITFIELD: President Barack Obama there, receiving both his honorary law degree just moments before actually carrying out the commencement address there, getting quite a number of standing ovations from the 2900 graduates of the university of Notre Dame as well as the friends and family that are there, as well.

But his commencement address didn't come without some disruption. At least two moments did occur in which you saw and heard voices, not clear exactly what was being said, but the image we eventually saw were at least two people who were taken by security and escorted out of the Joyce Center, there. Expectations were pretty high that something like that just might happen, despite security measures that had been put in place for the president's address, there. Simply because of the contention we've seen over the past three weeks leading up to this day, the 44th president of the United States carrying out the commencement address.

Why? There were protests off campus and there were silent protests even taking place there among the graduates. Some of whom had placards on their hats of a symbols of a cross and symbols of baby feet because of the president's on record view of a woman's right to choose, here in this country.

He did take on that issue. It was said by the White House leading up to today's address he would, indeed, mention the controversy and really that controversy was sprinkled throughout his entire address saying that it's OK to have differing opinions, but that -- whether that meant on abortion or stem cell research, but it was important to have the dialogue. Let's listen in one more time. REV JOHN JENKINS, PRES, UNIV OF NOTRE DAME: And we all know, and we witnessed today, that you bring honor to this university by being our commencement speaker.

(APPLAUSE)

But we also saw today that you felt honored to be our commencement speaker, to address this class and be part of a university that is both a lighthouse and a crossroads.

For this and your leadership of our country, Mr. President, we thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

In gratitude for your visit, we'd like to present you with a mento dear to the heart of Notre Dame. And it comes with a story. In the summer of 1964, then Notre Dame president, Father Theodore Hesburg, answered a phone call from Chicago asking him to come to a rally with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that day in Soldier Field. As you noted, Mr. President, Father Hesburg had been appointed in 1957 by President Eisenhower as one of six charter members of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

What you may not know is he is the only serving member of the original charter group.

(APPLAUSE)

Father Hesburg drove to Chicago, arrived at the rally, gave a speech, stood with Dr. King and with him and all assembled sang "we shall overcome." Twenty-four years later, when he was in Atlanta giving a speech commemorating Dr. King, he was presented with a photograph he never knew had been taken. The photograph now hanging in the Smithsonian's portrait gallery captures a moment from that day in Chicago, the minister and the priest.

(APPLAUSE)

The minister and the priest hand in hand singing the civil rights anthem, the summer the civil rights act that father Ted worked so hard to have passed was signed into law.

Before we present you with a copy of that photograph, Mr. President, if you and all here will forgive me for pointing, Father Ted is sitting behind the students in the first row by 11D.

(APPLAUSE)

In just a few days, Father Ted will be celebrating his 92nd birthday.

Father Ted, happy birthday.

(APPLAUSE)

Just as you graduates will soon begin a new life outside the university, so, too, will fellow members of the faculty who went to emeritus status from Notre Dame at the end of this academic year. On this occasion, we also pause for a few minutes to recognize and congratulate...

WHITFIELD: All right, closing remarks there from the University of Notre Dame president, Reverend John Jenkins there after the presentation of that historical photograph of the former president of Notre Dame, president, Father Ted Hesburg along with Dr. Martin Luther King, this coming after the commencement speech delivered by the president of the United States to 2,900 graduates of the University of Notre Dame.

Nearby the Joyce Center, our White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux is there. And Susan Candiotti is also on campus and she's -- Susan Candiotti is reporting the side of the protesters that have made themselves very evident in the past three weeks and then again today during the commencement address by the president.

So, Susan, let me begin with you. This president received a number of standing ovations, particularly when he said he was inspired by the student body at that university for how they handled the controversy leading up to his speech, today.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Fred, I was actually in the hall when that happened. I was there for much of the commencement speech. That really was a moment. You saw a lot of people jump to their feet, especially the parents. A lot of the parents and -- really felt a sense of, you know, that they had gotten beyond this point, that this is their commencement. A lot of hard work and clearly when he talked about he thought the student body held this with great maturity, that they felt a certain pride.

We did see a couple disruptions. One gentleman, in particular, who was yelling "stop killing our children. Stop killing our children." He was taken away by security, that was about 10 minutes or so into the speech. Really, the controversy happened at, I think, about really early on in his remarks. But then you saw really a turn here with the students, in particular when he talked about the fact that he would like to work towards a goal of not having abortion needed, that there would be less abortions, that there would be more choices in terms of people adopting, that type of thing. And everybody seemed to applaud at that point an acknowledgment of really the difficulty in this particular issue.

Now, when it comes to how some of the parents reacted, you might have noted there were the caps, the graduate caps. On top of some of the graduate caps was a cross as well as the footprint meant to symbolize the -- an aborted fetus. And those who were (AUDIO GAP) not feel comfortable, were protesting the president's appearance. Well, they were given instructions earlier to walk out if they felt there was a time in the speech that they were not comfortable, if he was addressing this issue.

We saw at least a couple of (AUDIO GAP) get up who had those caps and they walked out of the ceremony (AUDIO GAP) Odella (ph), who was outside the center, there were about 10 students or so who also walked out outside, here, during the ceremony saying that it was just embarrassing.

For the most part, Fred, however, we saw just a tremendous amount of support for President Obama and specifically when he was tackling that very sensitive subject of abortion. Even stem cells research, as well, getting a big applause line from what he was saying. There was some difficulty there, people who disagree over that sensitive issue. It was very clear from the very beginning, Fred, that he was not going to shy away from the issue, that he was going to get into it and there was a lot of emotion in that audience, listening to his speech this afternoon.

WHITFIELD: And it really did constitute the majority -- it did constitute the majority of his speech. Yes, he opened it up with a bit of humor and even within, as you mentioned, the first 10 minutes or so before he really got engaged in that topic, that's when we saw some remarks being shouted from the audience and at least two people being escorted out.

But, when you mention about 10 students that did leave, are you saying those 10 students were, indeed, graduates or they represent the student body of the university in attendance?

MALVEAUX: Sure, they weren't graduates, Fred. They (AUDIO GAP) the cap and gown, they were people who were in the audience who had (AUDIO GAP) graduate. They were part of the rest of the crowd who actually walked out. There were also some parents that we saw leave as well. We did not see any of the graduates who were actually sitting there in front of the president, either turn away or walk out. Specifically those people who were protesting who had the caps with those special stickers, they stayed in their seats. They sat in their (AUDIO GAP) did not necessarily applaud or rise to their feet (AUDIO GAP), but it seemed like it was, for the most part, a very respectful crowd.

We did see from time to time about five interruptions, at least three students physically escorted out of the hall during that time. And we saw the president, like he did so many times, Fred, during the campaign, handle it very much the same where he would address it. He didn't (AUDIO GAP) he said, OK, we're going to -- it's OK. He tried to tell the audience, this is a temporary moment, We're going to deal with this and then we're going to move on...

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Yeah, he even said, you know, we're not going to shy away from things unof theable, which it was at the beginning, which really did set the tone because he went into the area that some might find would be very uncomfortable for him since he's received a lot of the criticism, but he jumped right into it and laid it all out on the issue of abortion. He said he didn't shy away from his point view of that a woman should have the right to choose, but he did say there should be a collective mission to perhaps reduce the number of abortions that would take place without removing that option for women.

MALVEAUX: Right, and Fred, one of the things that we do when we get an advance copy of the speech, an embargoed advance copy, we look at the copy of the script to see if he makes any changes along the way, if he's actually adjusting to his audience. If he shies away or backs away from anything that he was actually planning to say. He did not do that. And you could kind of feel there was a certain tension in the beginning of the speech, because early on he had those disruptions. He got into the speech and then eventually it built up to some of those controversial issues. Sometimes he'll ad lib, he'll add something you didn't know was going to be there. He pretty much stuck to the script and did not shy away from what he wanted to talk about, and essentially taking on stem cell research, taking on abortion, taking on HIV/AIDS, taking on the war, all of those things, very sensitive. And a lot of people talked about it before he got up on that stage -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: And it seems just as the president, I guess, went out on a limb, so to speak, to go into those very sensitive subjects, the president of the university reciprocated, didn't he? Because he also went into those areas and tried to underscore and almost justify exactly why he was not to rescind an invitation and why he extended the invitation to the president.

He even called the president, he'd been a healer on health care to those who -- extending health care to those who need it and who have not had it; on renewable energy; on arms reduction talks. He really did kind of spell out -- and it looked for a moment like the president putting his finger to his lip, it made him take pause. Do you suppose there was this expectation from president Obama that the president of the university would really lay out a justification as to why they thought this president was, indeed, the right guest at the right time.

MALVEAUX: I certainly think that there was an expectation that the president thought that he would go ahead and he would be defended, if you will. The president of the university actually did that in a campus newsletter. He is also -- I can't even overstate just the kind of pressure that the reverend was under because essentially millions of dollars that were withdrawn from contributions, from alum said that because of President Obama's appearance here.

There was a potion circulating, Fred, at least 400,000 folks who had signed a petition calling for them to disinvite the president. There was a tremendous amount of pressure on this university, on the university's president to do just that. And from the very beginning, he has been talking about and having to justify himself -- having to justify why he chose president Obama at this time. Saying he was a racial healer; saying he was an historic figure and also very pointedly saying we don't necessarily agree with your positions here, your political stance, your positions, which got a huge applause, but nevertheless, we are inviting you and we're inviting you because you believe that you deserve to be here and that it's an honor that you speak at the commencement.

WHITFIELD: Yeah, the president saying, you know, Notre Dame believes in the sanctity of human life and certainly opposes the positions that the president shares on abortion and embryonic stem cell research, making it very clear and there was a huge rousing applause.

White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux, thanks so much. We're going to let you go because the president will soon be leaving and you being part of the White House Corps, travel with the president, that means you've got to go, too. But thanks for your time on this.

All right, Susan Candiotti also on campus there at Notre Dame. She's covering the protest side of things.

You have been for a number of days. It looks awfully placid and quiet where you are now on the campus, but we saw, during the commencement speech, there were some heckling, there were some protesters that were escorted out. But, what's been taking place from your vantage point?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, a number of things have been happening on campus, this day. Things that are happening and we're geared around and organized by the student protesters. First up, I think we're going to take you to pictures of the prayer vigil that wrapped up just a little while ago.

This was held at a famous grotto, here on the Notre Dame campus, that is structured after a prayer grotto dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes in France, and people have been coming for years, here, to pray. This is a location where stuntds who decided to boycott the graduation instead came together to pray.

Now our producer, Ross Levitt, is on site there and he estimates there were maybe at least 30 or so, if not more students, who were there who were wearing some of those same mortarboard cutouts that you saw at the graduation ceremony.

There were far more people there than that, however, those were the number of students that seemed apparent, who were protesting what was happening here, today, protesting the president's speech.

Now in addition to that, earlier, there was a mass that was held, again organized by students here who opposed the president getting that honorary law degree and his position on stem cell research. And this was attended by roughly 450 people or so people. At this mass, said by a Notre Dame priest, he specifically addressed the students to try to give them spiritual support for their position and here's part of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't tell you the number of rosaries and masses and prayer meetings that have been intentional responses to what many feel is a concession to the culture of death.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: Now that's what was happening on campus. Off campus, we had more organized demonstrations being staged by, in part, anti- abortion activists that have been coming on the campus daily for the last several days and, in fact, weeks. They've been outside the Notre Dame campus with signs in opposition to what's been happen here and the planning that's been going on here at Notre Dame.

And today we understand there were at least another 27 people who were arrested, remember there were 20 arrested yesterday, and estimated as many as 100 in all since the beginning of this month, people who were opposed to the presidential speech. What happens is on a daily basis, a group of people would enter the Notre Dame property. They have been told not to, they would be considered a trespass, and that's when they would be arrested trespassing charges.

Finally, this is just a close-up look of that cutout mortarboard that was warn these students. It features the cross and a cutout of the baby's feet and on the back of it, instructions on what they might consider doing during the speech. At the end, they were told it was being used just for this purpose only and should not be used after that. Back to you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Susan Candiotti, thanks so much, appreciate it. We'll be hearing much more from you in the next hour, as well.

We're going to take a short break, right now. When we come back, we have three guests with us, and we're going to be talking about both the religious and the political ramifications and implications that come from today's commencement address.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: President Barack Obama on the campus of the University of Notre Dame. He's still there after just moments ago carrying out his commencement address, there. All the while, you see him there, on the dais there, there before they wrapped thing ups with the closing remarks -- all the while even during his commencement speech and even before anti-abortion activists did turn out in force to protest the president's appearance at a mostly Catholic school. You see right there, images of at least one person who heckled during the commencement address and then escorted out by security.

They say president's support for abortion rights flies in the face of the Catholic teachings. That was the point of view of many protesters, there. Many of the protesters were especially upset about Notre Dame's decision to give the president an honorary doctor of law degree.

Well, he did receive it, without any one contesting it openly. We did hear that the number of protesters wouldn't like the idea, however; the president of the university then justified it was his belief that the president was, indeed, a man who was one who represented healing in keeping with the mantra of the university.

Although Mr. Obama is only the sixth president to speak the Notre Dame commencement, he is the ninth to receive an honorary Notre Dame degree.