Today's Papers: Obama and the Fighting Irish

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today's papers Obama and the Fighting Irish by Joshua Kucera Posted Monday, May 18, 2009, at 6:00 AM ET The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times lead with President Obama's speech at Notre Dame University's graduation ceremony where he addressed the issue of abortion directly while several anti-abortion protesters attempted to disrupt the event. The story also tops the Wall Street Journal worldwide news box. The New York Times leads with U.S. officials' increasing concern that Pakistan is adding to its nuclear arsenal even as it struggles against an insurgency that threatens to topple the government. USA Today leads with news that local law enforcement agencies are cutting back services, merging or even shutting down altogether because of the recession. Obama's speech was an attempt to bridge the gap between both sides of the abortion debate by calling on each side to respect the other with "open hearts, open minds, fair-minded words," as he said in a much-quoted part of his address. "Mr. Obama did not engage on the merits of the debate on abortion; he instead made an appeal to each side of the issue," the NYT wrote. Those on the anti-abortion side of the issue were not impressed: an anti-abortion mass was held in response to his presence, a small group protested outside (some were arrested, "nearly 40" according to the NYT) and some students registered their objection by skipping the ceremony. To continue reading, click here. Joshua Kucera is a freelance writer based in Washington, D.C. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate The Latest Updates From Barack Obama's Facebook Newsfeed Were People Really This Fat in Prehistoric Times? My Plan To Fix the Republican Party: More Puppies	Advertisement
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