President Obama Taking Heat From All Sides

May 14, 2009— -- Despite enjoying a still robust public approval rating, President Obama is feeling the heat from both sides of the political aisle as both the right and the left take on his policies.

Obama's first commencement as president at Arizona State University Wednesday night was marked by protestors calling for an end to the war in Afghanistan and controversy surrounding his honorary degree from ASU.

The protests came as the president tried to encourage graduates to "try harder" and "dig deeper" in these challenging economic times, and to convey the message that he fully embraced his own achievements in life.

"I come here not to dispute the suggestion that I haven't yet achieved enough in my life," the president said. "I come to embrace the notion that I haven't done enough in my life; I heartily concur; I come to affirm that one's title, even a title like president of the United States, says very little about how well one's life has been led -- that no matter how much you've done, or how successful you've been, there's always more to do, always more to learn, and always more to achieve."

And the president may be learning that he cannot please everyone, even liberal activists.

The American Civil Liberties Union is downright angry that Obama took a U-turn and decided to fight the release of photographs depicting alleged detainee abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"It only confirms that the Obama administration promise of transparency and accountability is essentially meaningless," said ACLU attorney Amrit Singh.

The ACLU had called for the release of the photos under the Freedom of Information Act, and the court had ruled in their favor. Last month, the administration said the Pentagon would release those photos, but Wednesday the president announced he would fight their release, as it might endanger U.S. troops. White House sources said Obama changed his mind after talking to commanders on the ground, who fear such a step would only enflame anti-American sentiment.

Notre Dame Controversy

The left is not the only side pouncing on the administration. The president's right flank is under fire as well.

Opponents of abortion rights at the University of Notre Dame are protesting the honorary degree their school is this Sunday giving the president, who supports abortion rights and lifted the ban on federally funding embryonic stem cell research.

Just weeks into office, Obama also removed a ban on a controversial policy allowing federal funding to international groups that provide abortion or abortion-related services, enraging some on the right.

Some outraged Notre Dame students have even produced a video to lodge their complaints.

"Bestowing an honor on him is the same as bestowing an honor to those policies that are in direct contradiction to teachings of Catholic tradition," one student said in the video.

A Catholic advocacy group started an online campaign to get the university to uninvite the president, and Bishop John D'Arcy of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Ind., where Notre Dame is located, said that for the first time in 25 years he will not attend the commencement ceremony because of President Obama's "long-stated unwillingness to hold human life as sacred."

But while he may have his share of opposition, some students are excited about the president's presence at the commencement.

"Abortion aside ... that's not the main issue. The fact that he's coming to speak to us and give us our commencement speech and send us off into the next part of our life is something I'm really going to cherish," graduating senior Gary Burke told ABC News via Skype.

"I can say that there has been a general excitement of the president's intended plans to visit Notre Dame and the pertinent dialogue it has created," student body president Bob Reish told ABC News. "Many students are honored to have the opportunity to hear President Obama speak at commencement and agree with the university's interpretation of academic freedom."