Here’s Doug Kmiec in Politico straining to explain why politicans who act against the teachings of the Catholic Church should be honored by the Catholic Church.

Here’s  Fr. John Zuhlsdorf cutting through Kmiec’s painful rhetoric.

Well-acquainted with abortion politics in America, Notre Dame’s graduating class is less confounded. [Isn’t that a bit of an assumption?  How well-acquainted would those students be with the Catholic arguments?] Indeed, an overwhelming majority are delighted [Again, crowds really impress Kmiec.  Numbers apparently guide his judgments.] by the opportunity to have their special moment embellished by Barack Obama’s intelligence and eloquence. [Sorry, but this smacks of a sycophant.]

Some of the reaction to Obama is still post-election sour grapes. [Once again, Kmiec chooses to look at the issue through the lens of party politics.  That is not why Catholics are upset about what is going on at Notre Dame.] Obama netted 54 percent of the Catholic vote nationwide, including a sizable share in Notre Dame’s home state of Indiana, where he became the first Democratic presidential candidate since 1964 to win the Hoosier State’s electoral votes. [See?  Again it’s all about the numbers and not whether something is right or wrong.] Obama’s victory loosened the grip the GOP had on middle-income families, a result of Ronald Reagan’s likable personality and his stance against an abortion rate in excess of 1 million per year.

Fr. Z continues here