WH Acknowledges Heckler In Official Notre Dame Transcript

Rather than sweep under the rug the rude interruptions when President Obama spoke at Notre Dame Sunday, the White House included them in the transcript of the event.

While the numbers of protests were small compared to the attention they received, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs noted on Friday that the President would acknowledge the controversy in his speech. The President did so by calling for common ground on the issue of abortion. He also asked that people “do so without reducing those with differing views to caricature.”

The heckler was heckled back with shouts of “Yes We Can!”

THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary _________________________________________________________________ For Immediate Release May 17, 2009
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT IN COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME

University of Notre Dame
South Bend, Indiana

3:06 P.M. EDT

(this is excerpted from below the third paragraph in the speech)

THE PRESIDENT: I also want to congratulate the Class of 2009 for all your accomplishments. And since this is Notre Dame —

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Abortion is murder! Stop killing children!

AUDIENCE: Booo!

THE PRESIDENT: That’s all right. And since —

AUDIENCE: We are ND! We are ND!

AUDIENCE: Yes, we can! Yes, we can!

THE PRESIDENT: We’re fine, everybody. We’re following Brennan’s adage that we don’t do things easily. (Laughter.) We’re not going to shy away from things that are uncomfortable sometimes. (Applause.)

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.