U.S. voters say 56 – 31 percent, including 60 – 34 percent among Catholic voters, that Notre Dame University should not rescind its invitation to President Barack Obama to speak at the university’s commencement, according to a Quinnipiac University national poll released today.
Observant Catholic voters who attend religious services about once a week say 49 – 43 percent that Notre Dame should keep President Obama on the program, while Catholics who attend services less frequently say 70 – 26 percent that Obama should speak, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University survey of 2,041 registered voters nationwide finds.
WASHINGTON (CNN) – Six in ten Americans continue to approve of how Barack Obama is handling his job as president — and despite the controversy over Obama’s appearance at Notre Dame on Sunday, Catholics have a high opinion of him, according to a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll.
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The results from U.S. Catholics are virtually identical to the rest of the population. Sixty-one percent say the president’s abortion views don’t have any impact on their view of him. Twenty-two percent say it makes them feel less favorably toward him, and 15 percent say it makes them feel more favorably.
The Pew Research Center found that, of those Catholics who say they’ve heard about the controversy, 54 percent approve of the school’s choice. 38 percent oppose it. Among those who hadn’t heard about it, only a plurality approved, but the margin was much wider — 45 percent in favor, 18 percent opposed.
Those numbers are actually eclipsed by data Joan had previously pointed to: 73 percent of Notre Dame students, including 97 percent of its seniors, support the invitation.
It was the Catholic right wing and they lost this one.
By facing their arguments head-on and by demonstrating his attentiveness to Catholic concerns, Obama strengthened moderate and liberal forces inside the church itself. He also struck a forceful blow against those who would keep the nation mired in culture-war politics without end. Obama’s opponents on the Catholic right placed a large bet on his Notre Dame visit. And they lost.
