Via the NYT: Some Parents Oppose Obama Speech to Students
President Obama’s plan to deliver a speech to public school students on Tuesday has set off a revolt among conservative parents, who have accused the president of trying to indoctrinate their children with socialist ideas and are asking school officials to excuse the children from listening.The uproar over the speech, in which Mr. Obama intends to urge students to work hard and stay in school, has been particularly acute in Texas, where several major school districts, under pressure from parents, have laid plans to let children opt out of lending the president an ear.
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“This isn’t a policy speech,” said Sandra Abrevaya, a spokeswoman for the Department of Education. “It’s designed to encourage kids to stay in school. The choice on whether to show the speech to students is entirely in the hands of each school. This is absolutely voluntary.”
I have two basic reactions. First, what is so controversial (or, for that matter, all that unusual) for a president to extol the youth of America to take education seriously? Second, I have to admit that given all that a given president has to do, that perhaps these kinds of symbolic acts are perhaps not the most efficient usage of time (although I acknowledge that symbolic acts of this type do go along with the president’s role as head of state and the much vaunted “bully pulpit.”). On balance, I concur with James Joyner’s sarcasm in the first part of this post from yesterday regarding the reaction to the speech.
In regards to the outrage that a President of the United States might directly address school children, I was struck by the following comment at the aforementioned post at James’ blog:
Remind me again where Dubya was the morning of 9/11?
The answer to the question, as no doubt we all know, is that he was visiting school children. Indeed, there is a rather long tradition of presidents visitng schools and/or telling the youth of America to work hard, stay in school and stay off of drugs. First Ladies have also been quite active in this realm, with Nancy Reagan’s campaign against drugs and Laura Bush’s focus on literacy. And this is not the first speech broadcast to students (from the NYT piece):
The first President George Bush, a Republican, made a similar nationally broadcast speech from a Washington high school in 1991, urging students to study hard, avoid drugs and to ignore peers “who think it’s not cool to be smart.” Democrats in Congress accused him of using taxpayer money — $27,000 to produce the broadcast — for “paid political advertising.”
Instead, however, we are getting a remarkable response to this move by Obama. To wit (from the NYT piece):
Mark Steyn, a Canadian author and political commentator, speaking on the Rush Limbaugh show on Wednesday, accused Mr. Obama of trying to create a cult of personality, comparing him to Saddam Hussein and Kim Jong-il, the North Korean leader.
There are other similarly dramatic quotes in the story.
One can argue whether a back to school speech is the best use of either the president’s or the children’s time. However, it is hardly a prelude to totalitarianism.
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September 4th, 2024 at 8:29 am
One thing I always wanted to do when Bush was President was to correlate photos of him in the paper in classrooms populated largely by minority kids with his approval rating.
I swear that every time his poll numbers dropped, you could pick up the New York Times and see him visiting a first grade classroom in Baltimore, Birmingham, or some other locale.
I think the “My Pet Goat” moment was reflective–remember at that point in his Presidency, he was still trying to convince people about the legitimacy of his election.
Obama doesn’t have to convince people as much about his legitimacy, but it is interesting that when his poll numbers are in decline, he decides to make this speech.
September 4th, 2024 at 8:52 am
I actually think this was a very important development. This flurry of activity over something rather innocuous shows that folks aren’t giving Obama the advantage of the doubt on anything. I’m willing to believe this was innocent from the start. But a lot of people, especially those with kids weren’t willing to be so generous.
There was one line in the original materials that was a little suspect — “Write a letter to the president to ask how you can help him” or some such rot. But I’d put it down to tone deaf bureaucrats. And my understanding is that was changed.
What I think astounding is that the President of the United States has agreed to submit the text of his talk to the public before addressing a group of elementary students. Too many parents and school officials don’t trust him to play it straight in front of a bunch of kids. I think if Dave Letterman were doing a top 10 list on “You know a president is in trouble when ___” this would rank near the top.
I think you should run a contest — grand prize being a signed copy of lecture notes from one of your classes or other priceless artifact. Who can give the best top 10 list mentioned above.
In addition to getting national approval to address a classroom …
10. He gives Hillary a useful task that doesn’t involve Status of Women issues …
6. He gives the Presidential Medal of Freedom to an appointee because he paid his taxes…
3. The Inspector General certifies that there are no Truthers among your Czars …
Just a start. I’ll finish my entry when I know the prize.
September 4th, 2024 at 10:10 am
The thing is, I don’t think that this is some massive, broad-based reaction. So, I am not sure that it constitutes a situation in which “hat folks aren’t giving Obama the advantage of the doubt on anything”.
September 4th, 2024 at 10:14 am
[...] is on the wisdom/need of Obama speaking to schoolchildren (for the record, my opinions align with Steven Taylor’s), but one thing that I think is worth setting the record straight about is that Obama is not the [...]
September 4th, 2024 at 11:33 am
[...] so go to the links and read these posts in full to get a variety of opinions on this issue): –Political scientist Steven Taylor: I have two basic reactions. First, what is so controversial (or, for that matter, all that unusual) [...]
September 4th, 2024 at 11:33 am
[...] so go to the links and read these posts in full to get a variety of opinions on this issue): –Political scientist Steven Taylor: I have two basic reactions. First, what is so controversial (or, for that matter, all that unusual) [...]
September 5th, 2024 at 6:49 pm
[...] the AP comes a Q&A with Education Secretary Arne Duncan, which included a question about Presdent Obama’s back to school speech: Q: The president is making an address to the nation’s school kids on Tuesday. You’ve [...]