Posted on 09/06/2009 12:25:57 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
Giving a back-to-school speech is a standard presidential event, like the Easter egg roll or pardoning the Thanksgiving turkey. President Obama created a massive public outcry, however, when someone on his team wrote on a supplemental activity sheet that after hearing the speech, public school children should be encouraged to write letters about how they might "help the president."
Obama's botched attempt to force American school children to promise to help him shows again how he is out of touch with average American family values. The politicizing of public school classrooms outraged parents and teachers.
Had the president stuck to the standard back-to-school address instead of attempting to promote his (socialist) agenda, he would not be in this mess. Instead, the White House is in crisis communications mode to stem the public backlash.
First, the administration announced that it was taking back the "help the president" letter and changed it to what kids could promise themselves. Second, the White House took the unprecedented step of releasing the speech text 24 hours in advance, supposedly so parents could be reassured that its contents were safe for young ears.
But the real reason the White House is releasing the speech on Labor Day, in my opinion, is to dump it on a holiday, in a media blackout, when people are at the beach and barbecues. The political scheme is for the 24 hour new cycle to wash and clean the anti-Obama rhetoric by Tuesday, when people are back to reading papers and watching TV.
The public outrage stems primarily from Obama's dictatorial style of forcing children to support him. Who can't help but think of the Soviet Union during the Cold War?
Also, the country's educational system is based on state rights, so the federal Government's intervention in such an extreme way -- putting a TV speech in a classroom -- is un-American.
In addition, although I agree with the president's overall message of encouraging kids to take personal responsibility, study hard, and stay in school, the concept that the federal government can teach - rather, dictate - this lesson is offensive to parents.
If anyone is going to have an influence in a child's education and future, it is a parent or teacher. What mother or father thinks a TV speech by the president would be more effective in encouraging their children than their own family lessons?
Of course, this latest uproar would never have risen to such a level if President Obama had not just angered the American public for nine months straight by governing as a socialist – especially in pushing for an overhaul of our health care system -- after winning the election as a moderate.
The U.S. is a moderate conservative nation, so the socialist liberal policies being rammed down our collective throats this year has caused a crisis, for us and for him. Obama's approval rating now stands at only 50 percent; he has had the steepest decline in the time period of any president in modern history.
Which is no surprise, given that the unemployment rate in the U.S. has now reached 9.7 percent, the highest it has been since 1983. So much for celebrating Labor Day, Mr President.
Good point, why aren’t the individual States’ Governors commonly giving live addresses to all PS kids in their respective States each year?
If Obama would give a standard back-to-school pep talk like other Presidents, nobody would care. But Obama planned to propagandize school children with his socialist message. Since he’s been caught before he could act, he’ll probably deliver the standard bland message, and his supporters will claim this is what he planned to do all along. They’ll be lying, of course, but that’s what leftists do.
‘socialist’ is such a mild mannered word.
more like Marxist....Stalinist....or the ever popular National-Socialist
You might want to substitute Obama’s face for Stalin’s and translate the Russian into something like, “Could the flowers bloom without him?”
Nobody noticed when Reagan and Bush 1 addressed school children. That’s because our expectation would be that nothing untoward would happen. Indoctrination of children is not in the conservatives playbook.
Nobody noticed or objected when Bill Clinton made regime change in Iraq the policy of the United States government and all the leading democrats made speeches promising Blood and Fire for Iraq. That’s because nobody believed them.
Nobody objects to Obama’s occasional Christian rhetoric because nobody believes he would turn America into a theocratic state.
A lot of people object to Obama’s intention to address school children because of socialism/communisms long stated principle that control of the state begins with control of the children. Isn’t that what Bill Ayers is all about?
When this first started, with the request that students write suggestions for Obama, I told my kid to encourage students to write to the government entity that has their original birth certificate, obtain a copy, and send that copy to Obama with a request that he reciprocate.
I do not want that Pinko POS near my Kids or Speaking to them about anything!
Obama should fire all of his advisors because somebody hired an administration full of Authoirtarian, dictators or in other words... Chicago style Politicians.
Guess all that Bush-bashing did have an effect on the populace at large. The message all that time was "don't trust Bush, don't trust the President, he's a Nazi, he caused 9-11, etc." Now we won't cut Obama any slack!
Is it any wonder that we don't trust anybody in government anymore? Let their chickens come home to roost!
Why is it that so many of the horrendous gaffes coming out of the obamanation (and there are many) are simply attributed to "someone on his team"??? Hasn't use of this excuse risen to such a level that we must begin to question obama's basic judgement? (not that I haven't been all along) But really, how many "acting stupidly" mistakes does obama get before someone finally stands up and says "This guy is a fool, no-one should listen to him." ???
Obama's botched attempt to force American school children to promise to help him shows again how he is out of touch with average American family values. The politicizing of public school classrooms outraged parents and teachers.
obama didn't see this one coming because he and his cohorts are blinded by their typical elitist "we're entitled" mentality. The lesson for obama and crew here is that not everyone fawns over him like the MSM, not everyone thinks the sun shines out his backside like he does.
Second, the White House took the unprecedented step of releasing the speech text 24 hours in advance, supposedly so parents could be reassured that its contents were safe for young ears.
Will this be posted in advance like the bills obama promised to post 5 days in advance before signing them? Someone else mentioned that he has in-fact done this - a grand total of 8 times in 8 months, none more than 3 days in advance of signing them. Also, I don't trust obama at all. I don't trust him to stick to the script - even though he is infamous for his tele-prompter crutch. (and the left used to give former President Reagan a hard time over "reciting lines") Of course, any veer to the socialist left in his speech will be brushed-off by the MSM as minor editing for time/flow etc.
In addition, although I agree with the president's overall message of encouraging kids to take personal responsibility, study hard, and stay in school, the concept that the federal government can teach - rather, dictate - this lesson is offensive to parents.
You're right, these are wonderful sentiments and ideals to teach our children. I'll believe it when I see it. I don't think obama can force the words "take personal responsibility" out of his mouth. Seriously. It would almost be worth watching just to see him try, or see what he couches around that statement to make it sound anti-conservative. The closest obama gets to personal responsibility is when he says "...let me..." in so many of his speeches. That old controlling mentality of his bleeding through - let him control your lives. Never!
One woma said yesterday that there was NO way she was goign to send her child to school to watch the president- at taxpayer expense, Self Agrandize himself infront of cameras- She basically insinuated that Obama is so self-conscious and insecure that he apparently has to hold kids hostage while he attempts to make himself look good in their eyes-
This really IS one insecure inept ‘leader’ we’ve elected when he has to hold out kids hostage in order to fil lthem full of BS about himself- He’s found out grown-ups have caught onto his crap, and now He’s goign after the young impressionable minds because that’s ALL he has left who might idoloze and worship him- Obama really IS an insufferable narcissist!
Bammy could use some help with his pitching a baseball.
He throws like a girl!
Take a look at Youtube, it starts at about 00:38
President Obama throws out first pitch of 2009 All Star Game
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRGK3QfcEqw
I don’t think anyone’s kids should be forced to sit through an Hollywood scripted Obama-man commercial!
The democrats are always screamign about hte ‘fairness doctrine’ and I say- let’s give htis ‘fairness doctrine’ a test run- let’s let hte president make his little propoganda speech to hte kids, then let’s allow a conservative speaker to immediately follow the president’s indoctrination speech by giving the FACTS to the kids, and point out how the president was LYING to the kids, and how he was only tellign them 1/2 truths, and hiding the whoel truth from them, and was tryign to blame everythign on President Bush when it was the DEMOCRATS who caused our financial crisis by forcing banks to lend money to people that they KNEW would NEVER be able to pay them back.
Yep- I’m all for the ‘fairness doctrine’ in situations liek this! We’ll see how long hte democrats keep screaming about enacting the ‘fairness doctrine’!
communist dictators are all either castrated at birth, or have low testosterone like O and Hitler had, so this explains his lack of testoserone and why he throws liek a girl
If the aughor of the article were to honestly INVESTIGATE Obamessiah and his minions a tenth as well as Glenn Beck has, and reported the facts for a change, he would understand WHY American parents want their children to have nothing to do with viewing Obmamessiah or even listening to him at all. It has nothing to do with racism and EVERYTHING TO DO WITH IDEOLOGY!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.