Barack Obama's message to schoolchildren is one that they need to hear. Don't waste all your time playing videogames or delude yourself into believing a career in the National Basketball Association awaits. "[T]he 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," the president declares. It's the right message, but there are better messengers. If children aren't reached by their parents or teachers with the same lesson, why do people think a complete stranger will somehow successfully impart it? The totality of politics for Barack Obama is displayed by his injection into nearly every school in the country. The event, which, in fairness to the president, is hardly unprecedented, represents the belief that federalism is an anachronism. Responsibilities properly undertaken at a more local level are usurped by one man in Washington. Why not have the president give an address on street sweepers, trash collection, snow plowing, or some other function of local government best kept far from the control of the federal government? It's not that the text of the president's speech is wrongheaded; it's just, coming from the chief executive of the federal government, a massive non sequitur.

Im pissed off that silly Che OBamie didnt give the kids really useful advise like telling the boys to wash thier Junk after sloppy sex with the Hoes! or hey white girls dont have a 1/2 black child cuz that said child will hate your color and bond with the color of his runaway deadbeat daddy! and its ok too try crack,but dont inhale. but if you do you wont be able to qualify for Army Intell. corps but you can still be Prez.

Certainly, the President’s intrusion on the first day of school for most kids in this country sets some kind of precedent. And although the message may be a good one on the surface, what bothers me and most people I know is that it seems not enough for the Ubiquitous One to force his will and image on the actual voters but now he’s going after potential voters.

The kicker is the discussion afterwards and the idea that conversations, essays, questions and answers regarding the indoctrin…eh, speech will be a day’s event and possibly be an intermittent topic throughout the school year. This is clearly a move by the Prevaricator in Chief to politicize and environment that should be left to readin’, writin’ and ‘rithmetic.

Not too strange is his foray into the consciousness’ of the kids whose parents will have to listen to him tomorrow night when he tells us all - again - how, really, really, really, honest injun good government controlled healthcare will be for us.

I agree with Dan's post for the most part. But a poster at the LRC blog rightly points out "President Obama’s Bad History Lesson".

Apparently, the Administration has had to modify a "lesson plan" that was to go along with Obama's speech, which included asking students to "write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president."

Being in a public school that aired the speech to the entire school, I can assure you, it was not nearly as big of a deal as you think. Students were told they didn't have to watch it if they chose not to. But, every single student watched it. Also, I'd be willing to bet 90% of students weren't paying attention after the first 2 minutes. I know those stupid lesson plans the White House produced created a lot of uproar. I bet those lesson plans were used by very few teachers across the country. It is really kind of insulting to give me a lesson plan for the speech, as if to assume that I have no ideas of my own.

Was ex-Green czar Van Jones there to tell all of the kiddies how the white man is poisoning the environment and support systems in the black neighborhoods?

I bet it came as a shock to Obama that a person he elevated into a position of power where he would have been able to spend billions of public money on his pet "progressive" projects had those kinds of beliefs.

But who would know? No scrutiny of Senate confirmations for the crew that Obama has clandestinely brought into his White House and are only beholding to him.

My contention is that not only does he know but shares many of those beliefs.

Dangerous time, dangerous times.