Newsweek is painting the Brigham Young protest against Dick Cheney’s speech as a further rebuke of the Bush presidency and a sign of ebbing support. Here’s a sample:

Is there any place left where the vice president can be sure of a friendly welcome? Dick Cheney is traveling later this month to Utah, the reddest of Red States, to deliver the commencement address at the Mormon Church’s Brigham Young University. But even there, support is ebbing for George W. Bush and Cheney. The university has approved a rare campus protest this week against Cheney’s visit, and is considering a second on commencement day. One online petition asking BYU to rescind the invitation has gathered more than 2,000 signatures, many from students and professors as well as alumni. The university says such criticism is normal.

Calling this a political protest — or a reflection of sagging poll numbers — is unfair. It’s unfair to the students and to the university. The Chicago Sun-Times gets it right:

Cheney is target of rare protest at Brigham Young

April 3, 2007

PROVO, Utah — Some students and faculty on one of the nation’s most conservative campuses want Brigham Young University to withdraw an invitation for Vice President Dick Cheney to speak at commencement this month.Critics at the school question whether Cheney sets a good example for graduates, citing his promotion of faulty intelligence before the Iraq war and his role in the CIA leak scandal.

The university, which is owned by the Mormon church, has “a heavy emphasis on personal honesty and integrity in all we do,” said Professor Warner Woodworth.

“Cheney just doesn’t measure up,” he said.

It’s not a political protest. It’s a moral protest. It’s an important distinction.

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