Sun Devil snub reversal? Ariz. State may give Obama a diploma after all

WASHINGTON -- Officials at Arizona State University are reportedly reconsidering their decision not to award an honarary degree to President Barack Obama, whom they invited as their commencement speaker next month.

"We will honor him in every way possible," said Arizona State President Michael M. Crow told Politico yesterday.

CNN reports that ASU officials are in a conference call at this hour, and that a final decision is imminent. The network also reports that in past years the school conferred honors on former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor after just three years on the bench, as well as giving degrees to a Canadian politician and an education minister for the Chinese government, among others.

Wolf Blitzer, CNN's evening anchor, said he'd scanned the entire list of ASU honorees and drily noted that many of them "are simply wealthy individiuals."

On Tuesday, reports that Arizona State would not award Obama an honorary degree raised eyebrows, but the school came under fire when an ASU representative said the school's decision was because Obama -- the nation's first African American president -- had not accomplished enough in his lifetime to justify the honor.

"Because President Obama’s body of work is yet to come, it’s inappropriate to recognize him at this time," she said.

Yesterday, Crowe, ASU's president, tried to defuse the situation. He told Politico that "there was no intended slight” to the president, and that the decision is not final.

“We had not yet talked about what honors we might give him as our commencement speaker, and we still have a month to work all that out," he said. "We don’t want anyone to think we do not recognize what he has achieved and what he means in America.”

Read Poltico's story here: http://politico.com/news/stories/0409/21120.html