If anyone could have made the pro-life case on a podium that would be — on that day, at least — the World’s Greatest Platform, it would have been Mary Ann Glendon. It would have been a tough task — to express a serious disagreement with the most famous man in the world, in his presence, while at the same time not coming across as bullying, confrontational, or point-scoring — but I think she could have done it better than just about anyone else I could imagine. The day is coming when the taking of innocent human life at the fetal stage will be illegal in this country, and I think Ambassador Glendon’s speech could have helped bring that day closer. Are we pro-lifers confident that the pro-life witness at the commencement ceremony will be anywhere near as impressive as her remarks would have been? Don’t get me wrong: I like to dump on Notre Dame as much as the next guy (unless the next guy happens to run an IHateNotreDameBooHiss.com website piggybacking on this controversy), but a Two Minute Hate against Notre Dame was never the main point for me in this. I think Ambassador Glendon is entirely correct in saying that the Notre Dame administration was using her, basically exploiting her for political cover. I think it would have been a great boost to the pro-life cause if she had gone ahead with her address anyway.