That Vice President Dick Cheney is not even wanted as a commencement speaker at conservative Brigham Young University in Utah these days underscores how far the current national administration has fallen into disfavor.Its nothing short of breathtaking to see photos of demonstrations on BYU campus in Provo students holding signs protesting Cheneys potty mouth and so much heavy-handed influence in the woefully planned and executed war in Iraq. Love Your Enemies Unless Theyre an Enemy Combatant reads one protest sign in a New York Times photo. Cheney is killing our troops states another. According to the Wednesday story by Martin Stolz, the White House had made a request to administrators of the private university associated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for a chance to speak at their spring graduation. The announcement of Cheneys coming was made two weeks ago and has set off political debates and petitions that are not that common at sedate BYU. That the request was made to BYU may demonstrate how the White House goes about trying to find non-hostile venues for speech-making these days. Beyond military academies or places like Bob Jones University, Regent University or Liberty University, it must be hard work locating friendly landscapes where a Bush or Cheney would not confront protesters before and during appearances. In other times, schools of higher learning had to stand in line to get the nations president or vice president to honor their commencements by appearing to deliver the address. But even conservatives have been left with the mouths hanging open at how this duo has governed and delivered disastrous surprises with unintended consequences over the past six years. Whats so newsworthy about the BYU issue is Cheney would come in June to the nations bastion of Republicanism Utah. There 49 percent of registered voters say theyre Republicans (although that number had slid 6 percent from January, the Times said.). That compares to 18 percent Democrat. Stolz reports the students at the university of 28,000 have focused on Cheneys integrity, character and behavior, from using an expletive in a U.S. Capitol encounter with Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., to his role in the CIA leak related to agent Valerie Plane to his powerful shaping strategy in the muddled war in Iraq that was launched with faulty intelligence. A BYU spokeswoman has been quick to say that inviting Cheney was not an endorsement of the Bush Administration, and some say it is a chance for the vice president to see what BYU really is. That the well-traveled Cheney from next door in Wyoming doesnt know about the school may be seems to be a stretch. In the petition counts, Stolz said there were 3,600 students and alumni asking for a more appropriate speaker to be booked, while about 2,000 signed a petition in support of Cheneys coming. The incident is giving BYU students an opportunity to remind the world that they not only adhere to strict standards but they expect the same from national leaders, even if they may share the same political party. One professor, Warner Woodworth, 65, a political independent, said Cheneys appearance just feels too much like sleaze and not the right values for BYU. We espouse honesty, chastity, integrity, ethics, virtue and morality, and he does not epitomize those values. Look for Cheney to speak amid restrained protest, get polite applause and go on his way with the same confidence and arrogance that carries him through his shadowy tenure.

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