September 7, 2009

Here's how he's going to destroy your children, America.


Okay, I was wrong. The White House has released the text of President Obama's speech to schoolkids tomorrow, and the Conservatives were right. It's nothing less than a manifesto for turning your kids into little Socialist zombies. God, I only wish I'd listened to you. All I can say is that I am so, so sorry. America, I'll miss you. I should have listened. Oh God, why, WHY DIDN'T I LISTEN???

Here's the full text, so you can read for yourself the horrifying vision this man has for the future. Whatever you do, however, don't let your kids read it. Or any persons with sensitive constitutions, particularly pregnant women. Obama will turn your fetuses into Socialists, too. Don't think he won't do it.

---

Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama
Back to School Event


Arlington, Virginia
September 8, 2009



The President: Hello everyone – how’s everybody doing today? I’m here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we’ve got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through twelfth grade. I’m glad you all could join us today.

I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it’s your first day in a new school, so it’s understandable if you’re a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now, with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you’re in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you could’ve stayed in bed just a little longer this morning.

I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn’t have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday – at 4:30 in the morning.

Now I wasn’t too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times, I’d fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I’d complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and say, "This is no picnic for me either, buster."

So I know some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But I’m here today because I have something important to discuss with you. I’m here because I want to talk with you about your education and what’s expected of all of you in this new school year.

Now I’ve given a lot of speeches about education. And I’ve talked a lot about responsibility.

I’ve talked about your teachers’ responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn.

I’ve talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don’t spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox.

I’ve talked a lot about your government’s responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren’t working where students aren’t getting the opportunities they deserve.

But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.

And that’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.

Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide.

Maybe you could be a good writer – maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper – but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor – maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine – but you might not know it until you do a project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a Senator or a Supreme Court Justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.

And no matter what you want to do with your life – I guarantee that you’ll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You’re going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can’t drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You’ve got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.

And this isn’t just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. What you’re learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.

You’ll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You’ll need the insights and critical thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. You’ll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy.

We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems. If you don’t do that – if you quit on school – you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country.

Now I know it’s not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.

I get it. I know what that’s like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn’t always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn’t fit in.

So I wasn’t always as focused as I should have been. I did some things I’m not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.

But I was fortunate. I got a lot of second chances and had the opportunity to go to college, and law school, and follow my dreams. My wife, our First Lady Michelle Obama, has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn’t have much. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country.

Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you don’t have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job, and there’s not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don’t feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren’t right.

But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life – what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you’ve got going on at home – that’s no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That’s no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That’s no excuse for not trying.

Where you are right now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end up. No one’s written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.

That’s what young people like you are doing every day, all across America.

Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn’t speak English when she first started school. Hardly anyone in her hometown went to college, and neither of her parents had gone either. But she worked hard, earned good grades, got a scholarship to Brown University, and is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to being Dr. Jazmin Perez.

I’m thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who’s fought brain cancer since he was three. He’s endured all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer – hundreds of extra hours – to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind, and he’s headed to college this fall.

And then there’s Shantell Steve, from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods, she managed to get a job at a local health center; start a program to keep young people out of gangs; and she’s on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.

Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell aren’t any different from any of you. They faced challenges in their lives just like you do. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their education and set goals for themselves. And I expect all of you to do the same.

That’s why today, I’m calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education – and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending time each day reading a book. Maybe you’ll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you’ll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you’ll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, I hope you’ll all wash your hands a lot, and stay home from school when you don’t feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.

Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it.

I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work -- that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are, you’re not going to be any of those things.

But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won’t love every subject you study. You won’t click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won’t necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.

That’s OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures. JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, "I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

These people succeeded because they understand that you can’t let your failures define you – you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get in trouble, that doesn’t mean you’re a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to behave. If you get a bad grade, that doesn’t mean you’re stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying.

No one’s born being good at things, you become good at things through hard work. You’re not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don’t hit every note the first time you sing a song. You’ve got to practice. It’s the same with your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right, or read something a few times before you understand it, or do a few drafts of a paper before it’s good enough to hand in.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don’t know something, and to learn something new. So find an adult you trust – a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or counselor – and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.

And even when you’re struggling, even when you’re discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you – don’t ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.

The story of America isn’t about people who quit when things got tough. It’s about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best.

It’s the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and found this nation. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.

So today, I want to ask you, what’s your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country?

Your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I’m working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books, equipment and computers you need to learn. But you’ve got to do your part too. So I expect you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don’t let us down – don’t let your family or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.

59 comments:

Jennifer G. said...

Oh the horror! How dare he tell kids to work hard. That's Socialist propaganda!

kris said...

Blasphemy!

Sarah said...

It looks innocent enough, but if you take the third letter from each fourth word of every other paragraph and scramble them, I think the real message is "Help me destroy America, idealistic young people."

You know what we watched live in high school? OJ Simpson's verdict being read. Now THAT is a truly inspiring message of what you can accomplish in America. Make enough money to literally get away with murder.

Leightongirl said...

Here's the thing: secretly, conservatives don't want our children (or populace) motivated. That's where the blasphemy comes in. Motivated, thinking, educated Americans? God forbid.

MikeH said...

Hard work as a means to success? Learning from your failures? No free ride? Where does this man get these wacky ideas?

Jennifer Good said...

Oh my god, he's going to destroy us all!

Ciara said...

Thank god someone is trying to motivate America's kids! This is sooo much better than just being passed through the system and finding you've learned next to nothing by the time you graduate. I wish I'd gotten this kind of inspiration when I was in school.

Elizabeth said...

I think I saw some subliminal message coming out, blinking here. Did you not see it? The star thing a majig -- the one that's on those Mao hats? Come on, you had to have seen that.

Jenn said...

Who could even argue with his words? Oh wait....I know....parents who want their children to grow up to be criminals and drop outs. Right. Everybody, cover your ears! Over the ridiculous outcry about this. If you keep your child home so he doesn't hear this message, that's your child's loss and YOUR putting your beliefs in your child's ears instead of letting them decide for themselves. That's my biggest thing. Let the kids hear it then discuss later. He's not telling them to go out and murder, people!

Anonymous said...

Well, that was certainly worth all the hysterics. Damn, who knew that so many people objected to a call for hard-working patriotism?

I guess it's true: there's nothing more subversive in the USA today than a call for personal responsibility.

If kids take this message seriously, where is the next generation of entitled idiots going to come from? Wake up, people! This president is clearly Dangerous!

Suzanne said...

But I'm probably an American hating socialist Democrat because Democratic Senator (and former gov. of FL) Bob Graham came and talked directly to one of my classes. In fact, I shook his hand, so that's probably how I was infected.

Oh... wait... I don't hate America. Nor am I a socialist, despite my interest in some socialized programs. Weird, ain't it?

Not only did I see Reagan & Bush Sr.'s addresses to students, Bob Graham did come to my classroom, as did FL Gov. Bob Martinez, who is a Republican.

I don't remember any parents challenging any of those events. Honestly, many of my teachers were far more political and I had to listen to them daily.

Anyway, I do hope that parents will review the speech tonight and allow their kids to attend.

Wilfred Berkhof said...

Funny how the US is the only country in the world where 'socialist' has a negative ring.

Unknown said...

Wow, personal responsibility! Hard work! How radical!

Erin said...

Run for your lives! The horror of promoting hard work and perseverance to achieve your goals. Why would anyone want their child corrupted by those ideals? Oh wait...I would. Too bad I live in Canada and my kids will miss seeing this.

H said...

And did you hear that Jim Greer, the Florida GOP chairman (who was one of the first, if not THE first to object to the speech), has now done a 180 and says HIS children WILL watch the speech?? Who is going to hold these people who JUDGED before they had the FACTS responsible for their words? I was pissed before I read the speech, knowing Obama wouldn't actually slip some horrible agenda into it, and now I'm livid. I see none of the anti-speech commenters from your previous post have returned to somehow try to defend their stupidity. I hope the GOP uses this anti-speech platform in the elections to come. Vote for the Republican candidates who would never allow a message of personal responsibility and hard work to reach your children!

Unknown said...

The dripping sarcasm ignores the obvious fact that this is NOT what he originally wanted to say. He thought he could use his doublespeak, but too many people and too much pressure made him back away.

He never thinks about what his actions will generate, and when they are negative, and cause a great deal of national outrage, he doesn't know how to turn it around. Healthcare is his baby, but he had no idea we are wise to his socialist propaganda, so rather than admit things are to confused and muddled to be allowed to pass into law, and we need to restart with smaller chunks, he just forges ahead, not caring that he is bring us closer to civil war than anyone cares to imagine.

The bank bailout failed, the national bailout failed, they couldn't even administer "cash for clunkers" and all that that it involved was giving away money. Yes, this is the man we want controlling our healthcare choices. By all means, let's give him his crown right now, and bow at his feet.

Do most of you know that the money "given" to some for their clunkers, is taxed???? How stupid is a bailout that involves giving back part of what they give you. Stupid doesn't begin to describe this man.

John

june said...

Well, now I want them to show that speech in MY kid's classroom.

(I'm in Canada. Probably not going to happen. I'll just have to read it to him myself.)

Robert Hudson said...

The dripping sarcasm ignores the obvious fact that this is NOT what he originally wanted to say. He thought he could use his doublespeak, but too many people and too much pressure made him back away.

I love this comment. I knew someone would make it. You know what's funny, though? Is who DIDN'T make it. Jim Greer, the Florida Republican party chairman and first class tool who accused the president last week of attempting to "indoctrinate America's children to his socialist agenda", now says the following. (Emphasis mine.)

"I don't advocate children not watching this president's speech with this text. Now who knows what last week's speech might have looked like, but tomorrow my kids will be listening to the president."

Who knows indeed. Did Jim Greer know when he made his ridiculous accusations? No, but apparently Commenter John knows. He has stated an "obvious fact", after all. Obama MUST have changed his speech.

John, I'm going to have to reject your conspiracy theory, cute thought it may be, but just this once, I'm actually going to offer one up in its place. Because I'm a giver that way. So get your tin foil hat ready.

I believe that President Obama most likely wrote this speech, largely as-is, from the very beginning. But I think it is entirely possible that he intentionally withheld it from the public until now, and maybe even allowed the little firestorm over the original instructions from the Department of Education, because he suspected that knee-jerk conservatives like the Honorable Mister Greer (and, well, yourself, John) would leap into action, Glen Beckian talking points in hand, and do exactly what they did.

Because now, in the face of the content of this speech, you look like fools. Perhaps the president didn't intentionally hand you the rope you needed. But I sort of like to imagine that he did.

A lot of people are laughing, John. And not *with* you.

Robert Hudson said...

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Former first lady Laura Bush is defending President Obama's decision to address the nation's school children, telling CNN Monday that it is "really important for everyone to respect the President of the United States."

"I think that there is a place for the President of the United States to talk to school children and encourage school children, and I think there are a lot of people that should do the same," she told CNN's Zain Verjee, in an interview set to air Monday on The Situation Room. "And that is encourage their own children to stay in school and to study hard and to try to achieve the dream that they have."

The former first lady said she believed criticism of the speech had arisen because of the accompanying lesson plans. If parents are opposed to the address, said Bush, "That's their right. You know that certainly is the right of parents to choose what they want their children to hear in school… (But) I think it's also really important for everyone to respect the President of the United States."

Does she think it's fair to criticize Obama, as some have, by labeling him a socialist? "I'd have no idea whether it's fair, do you think I thought it was fair when President Bush was criticized — not really. So, I guess not," she responded.


Bush said that she thought "really safe congressional districts" had contributed to political polarization. "That's just a fact of life in American politics and …I'm sure President Obama didn't expect it to be that way. But you know — it is that way, and I think all of us need to do what we can to come together on issues."

The former first lady added that she thought both Obama and her successor, Michelle Obama, had done good jobs since moving into the White House.

But she also said former Vice President Cheney, who has been an outspoken critic of the Obama administration's security policy, "has every right to speak out, and I appreciate that he is defending the Bush administration and his administration."

"But George as a former president chose not to speak out," she added. "He thinks the president deserves the respect and the no second-guessing on the part of the former president… he didn't like it when he was criticized by former presidents and that's what he has chosen to do."

She said her husband and his former vice president still speak "occasionally."

Both Bushes have been working on their memoirs. Bush said her husband has also spent a lot of time mountain biking.

Anonymous said...

But where are the jobs he promised to the millions of people who are out of jobs--jobs that will never come back?

This is what we want to hear from obama, and not some "stay in school, study hard" routine. It is a parent's job to make sure that education is a priority, not obama's.

Also, I don't see why our children should have to hear something that his OWN children will not be required to listen to because they attend private school. Do only public school students need this pep talk? If so, why?

This is about obama (and the government behind him) attempting to take the place of the parent. They do this in very sneaky ways but if you keep your blinders on and only see what is on the surface, you'll just see this as a good old fashioned motivational speech to the kiddos.

Maybe when our kids are all in obama's youth service program more people will understand that obama and our government's motives are not in the best interests of our children.

Karen

Robert Hudson said...

Oh my god, this is getting good.

Robert Hudson said...

Also...

It is a parent's job to make sure that education is a priority, not obama's.

I agree. I think you should protest by keeping your child home from school.

Leigh C. said...

"Family values" advocates will harp on his bringing up his having been raised by a single mother in the speech.

But you know, reality is a beeyotch. ;-)

I found nothing objectionable. I hope the American people are "punished" by such words more often.

Anonymous said...

John,

I think that your comment "Stupid doesn't even begin to describe this man" seems to far better describe those that listen to and read the far right propaganda.

Cash for Clunkers does not give money to the consumer. It goes to the dealer. The idea that the consumer will be taxed as income is a lie. Not a misunderstanding--a lie that was put out to confuse the consumer.

See:

http://www.cars.gov/faq


Which reads:

Is the credit subject to being taxed as income to the consumers that participate in the program?

NO. The CARS Act expressly provides that the credit is not income for the consumer.

In some states the rebate amount will be subject to sales tax along with the rest of the car price.

And as far as the speech originally being full of doublespeak, that is patently ridiculous. Paranoid much?

Laura

Renate said...

Shocking, just shocking. The nerve of him!

Uly said...

But where are the jobs he promised to the millions of people who are out of jobs--jobs that will never come back?

Wait - I thought that when the government makes jobs for people, that's socialism...?

mosprott said...

I'm so proud that they chose Wakefield High (just down the street!) as the site of the speech. The poorest (by far!) of Arlington County's 3 high schools, with an extremely diverse, working-class population, Wakefield encourages all of its students to take AP courses - hence, Wakefield graduates have double the AP pass-rate as compared to the national average.

amylia said...

the audacity!

Kassie said...

Just for ha-ha's, I tried to imagine if things had gone differently... and McCain/Palin were in charge... and wanted to give a back-to-school speech. If that were the case, I sure as heck would have reviewed the comments ahead of time. But the concept of opting out/skipping school is extreme even in that (implausible) scenario.

EJ Willingham said...

Looks like the bats are crowding into some pretty empty belfries in these great United States. I mean, could this poster truly believe that "He never thinks about what his actions will generate, and when they are negative, and cause a great deal of national outrage, he doesn't know how to turn it around"? We *are* talking about (a) an Ivy-League-educated attorney and (b) law professor who (c) ran for and was elected to the offices of (d) senator and (e) president. I realize the last guy in the latter office was kind of an idiot and that his precedent-setting turn might make some folks believe that one can leave a village without its idiot while becoming president, but Obama's track record is one of almost legendary thoughtfulness.

And this speech--which is likely very similar to whatever draft existed before the GOP once again became "outraged" without any proof of their own claims--is thoughtful, as well. (I'm curious--do Republicans have some subsidized outrage factory somewhere that keeps replenishing their continually emptying reservoirs of manufactured emotion?)

Elizabeth said...

Are the ANONYMOUS comments synonymous with IDIOTIC? Why not comment with your real name? What's the big deal? Afraid that we'll send an army of brainwashed socialist/communist thugs to you?

watchwhathappens said...

I heard the local dumb-ass right wing radio host today (and she truly is dumb as a post; there are some other conservatives on the same station who are quite smart) saying the same thing that brain trust John here is saying: that the speech he's giving isn't the one he SURELY intended to give. THAT'S the one where he'd indoctrinate our youth into his cult and insist they tell their parents that indeed they DO want a public option, etc. We really are into tin foil hat territory here, aren't we? It's pretty terrifying how deep into paranoia these people have gone.

PinkLAM said...

These comments are so entertaining...

No one complained when we (we being students in school) were "forced" to watch President Obama being inaugurated, or when we had to watch presidential debates. But as soon as he writes a speech that's directed TO US these people are convinced he's trying to brainwash us. Oh, that must be it. I mean really, who ACTUALLY believes we should stay in school? Hard work? pssshh...

Suzanne said...

I haven't made it through all of the comments yet, but you just made my day, Rob. I woke up with a migraine and I've been foggy-brained, tired and grumpy all day, but when I got to your, "Oh my god, this is getting good," and, "I agree. I think you should protest by keeping your child home from school," comments, I couldn't help but crack up. I was thinking the same things.

It's just about bedtime for me, but thanks for helping me to end it on a good note.

Kyla said...

These comments are QUITE interesting, I must say.

Last night after I read it, my husband sat down at my machine to read it. I told him, "Be careful, Josh, you might find yourself motivated to do well in your classes! THE HORROR!" (we are both full time students among other things)

R said...

I have no issue with President Obama speaking to our schools in fact I think its a great idea and should be an annual event for whoever is President. The issue I have is that the same people who are outraged by the controversy would be doing the same if it was a President with an R after their name. In fact they did:

Unlike the Obama speech, in 1991 most of the controversy came after, not before, the president's school appearance. The day after Bush spoke, the Washington Post published a front-page story suggesting the speech was carefully staged for the president's political benefit. "The White House turned a Northwest Washington junior high classroom into a television studio and its students into props," the Post reported.

With the Post article in hand, Democrats pounced. "The Department of Education should not be producing paid political advertising for the president, it should be helping us to produce smarter students," said Richard Gephardt, then the House Majority Leader. "And the president should be doing more about education than saying, 'Lights, camera, action.'"

Robert Hudson said...

An article in the Washington Post and Dick Gephardt (whom I will unhesitatingly agree is a bit of a tool) seems somewhat less parallel than the legions of angry, stupid parents whipped into a frenzy by the talking empty heads of the conservative movement, and I also don't recall angry parents on the left keeping their kids home from school. But I see your point.

But the main difference to me? The fact that Gephardt and the Washington Post reacted after the fact, when they actually knew the details of the president's speech. The may have been douchebags about the whole thing, but they were informed douchebags.

Which probably sums up the difference between the Republicans and the Democrats in my mind.

7th House Doula said...

Ah, it burns, it burns!

(Brought to you by the letters S-A-R-C-A-S-M)

And also, the comments? Oh, the paranoid comments. It really breaks my heart that people are so angry and fearful. Is there still hope for conservatives? If they turn off Fox News... Maybe.

-Katrina

H said...

I would like to add that to your comment, Rob, that this is a completely different generation of parents. I was in college and had no children when Reagan gave his taxation speech to school children. I had a toddler and a newborn when Bush1 spoke to school children. I can't imagine I would have objected then but even so, "R" can't assume that this generation of parents would have objected if McCain did this. The world is different, WE are different. And, as Rob pointed out, at least the complainers had HEARD the speech and had the facts. I simply can't believe that when the complainers are proven wrong, their next move is to fabricate what would have been - as if they're privy to the inner workings of Obama's speech! I say we let them rant. They're simply proving to the rest of the world that the issue is Obama himself, not the speech.

Stacy said...

Oh my God, this was hilarious. Made my morning, it did.

Suzanne said...

I dunno... that alternate speech of cult-tastic, socialistic brainwashing might be real! I mean, everything is real, right?

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/e357e52d41/death-panel-advisors?rel=player

Karen H. said...

To the poster who wondered whether the Republican party has a subsidized "outrage factory" -- why, yes, this does indeed seem to be the case. Thomas Frank has a book out about this factory: "The Wrecking Crew." In my view it is marred by the fact that he is so outraged that he becomes frequently sarcastic, but then, I have no idea how one would handle the evidence he does without either going mad with despair or being sarcastic. Having read it, I feel pretty confident I can predict every response right wingers will make to any move of Obama's -- even responses they make before anything ever happens.

Dot said...

Outrageous! After George W.'s English problems and Dan Quayle's "potatoe," how dare he encourage children to learn? How dare he support education?

Jim Howard said...

"The Department of Education should not be producing paid political advertising for the president, it should be helping us to produce smarter students," said Richard Gephardt, then the House Majority Leader. "And the president should be doing more about education than saying, 'Lights, camera, action.'"

Unknown said...

I just had to copy that and send it to my 72 year old mom, who I discovered just yesterday is a "birther"

helen-louise said...

The speech is amazing. I had tears in my eyes reading it, and I'm not even American. I wish that our politicians were that good as orators (or had that good scriptwriters).

It's a shame that some of your commenters are idiots :/ I respect people's right to be right-wing and Republican-voting and to not like Obama But if you're going to criticise a politician, you need to go with things he promised and hasn't done yet, or things that he's done badly. Not things that he's done that are excellent and inspiring to all, regardless of political affiliation.

Krissy said...

I love it! I finally made it through all of the comments and am so glad I did!
I'm a bit curious if the one who called Obama stupid and the ones who are so so convinced of Obama's secret and hidden agenda voted Bush into office..

Anonymous said...

Unbelievable. Actually, it is a believable, which is sad. Our kids should learn and sometimes their parents should stay out of it. We've crossed the line between parents not being involved at all and being way too involved. I remember school as "my place", not my parents place. They were involved, sure, they made us do our homework and told us to shape up and do better, but they didn't micromanage our school lives.We never had the option of "opting out" of anything, nor did anyone else. Yikes!

Anonymous said...

Did they show it in S's class?

electric boogaloo said...

I'm confused by the logic of "Why should public school kids have to watch it when his own kids don't have to watch it?"

Do you honestly think that his daughters don't hear this kind of thing every time they whine about their homework?

We homeschool and we sat down and watched it together after talking about how out of all the speeches that presidents give very very few of those speeches are for kids. My six year old loved it.

Then again I used to be conservative but at this point, I'm wondering what's so awful about Socialism.

Suzanne said...

Also, I don't see why our children should have to hear something that his OWN children will not be required to listen to because they attend private school. Do only public school students need this pep talk? If so, why?

Public school = socialized education. Wait...SOCIALISM?!

Anonymous better get his/her kids to a private school stat, lest they be provided something from the taxes collected by the evil socialist government.

Unknown said...

I'm embarassed I ever voted for this lunatic.

Sparkly Tiara said...

I really am confused, I have to say. We probably don't get the whole story over here in Australia, but I have read many blogs of American parents who have been ranting and raving about socialism and the like.

What exactly are they objecting to? Why would any parent not want their child to be "exposed" to such a speech? Just to quote Jennifer G. "How dare he tell the kids to work hard. That's Socialist propaganda!"

Do you appreciate my confusion???

Keith Wilcox said...

Yes, It was quite the spectacle wasn't it :-) I actually am a conservative so I don't go for all the conservatives are evil stuff. However, opposing a speech like this is really stupid. Yeah, it turned out to be a pretty big non event. (At least here in Boulder CO) The teachers were given the choice to show it or not show it. Obviously they all showed it. I think it would have been better if it had been live, but that's just me.

Anonymous said...

I hope all you people who voted for Obama Christ Superstar are happy now.

Rob, you seriously should have your lips surgically removed from Obama's ass.

Robert Hudson said...

Stay classy, dude.

BigRed said...

Rob: Off-topic from this post but I thought you might be interested in this article about a disabled grad student:

http://www.lesbilicious.co.uk/sex-relationships/the-deal-with-disability/

Anonymous said...

NY Times picked up the cause today. Too bad they didn't have a photo of our heroine.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/15/technology/15speech.html?_r=1

Anonymous said...

The Gods closed it shortly after first telling me that back in the day she verbally told him to just let it happen.
They wanted to get "dealt in" to the Situation. Ironic, because this volunatary act ensured he would not be a candidate for accention.
Poetic justice.
Closing it was a clue about this family for those without the wisdom to understand the God's prior clues:::His EXTREME case of poison ivy, punishment for their involvement in this evil.