Your morning jolt: If your kid. Comes home. Talking like this. It’s Obama’s. Fault.
Over a three-day weekend, and perhaps a few beers, some of us have mellowed out on President Barack Obama’s speech to schoolchildren set for today.
But some have not. This from columnist Laura Armstrong in the Marietta Daily Journal, on our president’s power of seduction:
Parents are watchful of indoctrination, given Obama’s propensity for personal slogans, seals, pledges and mottos. And his planned “civilian defense force”… too much like the third-world (or one 20th century nationalist/socialist movement) for many. Will he call children to service?
Seen those creepy YouTube videos pledging allegiance to Obama, doing the Obama dance, singing the Obama song?
Many parents fear that Obama will attempt to woo students with actual policy. Highly questionable policy. Lord knows, there’s a precedent:
“If war is forced upon us, we will liberate the people of Iraq from a cruel and violent dictator. We don’t believe freedom and dignity are America’s gift to the world. We believe they are the Almighty’s gift to mankind.”
That was President George W. Bush, speaking in the Harrison High School gym in west Cobb in February 2003, one month before we went in search of weapons of mass destruction.
But the comparison is probably apples to oranges. Accounts of Bush’s visit make no note of students engaging in a Bush dance, or singing the Bush song.
Read the text of Obama’s speech here.
The New York Times this morning has an early retrospective on Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin’s two terms in office, noting that may have been right in focusing on the dull issues of infrastructure and finance:
In a recent interview, Ms. Franklin shrugged off the troubles of the last 18 months, acknowledging that she was, after all, the bearer of news no one wanted to hear. “I have a bull’s-eye on my chest,” she said. “I ran for mayor. I knew that when I ran.”
That attitude is not a departure for Ms. Franklin, 64, who has consistently acted with a disregard for political expediency that some call reckless. She has resisted demands to fire her unpopular police chief, saying he has met performance goals. And the fire station she closed during a round of budget cuts, chosen based on its level of activity and proximity to other stations, was in the district of one of the mayor’s most loyal Council allies.
“I really don’t operate on feelings,” Ms. Franklin said. “Folks say I really don’t have a nurturing personality. I just don’t.”
And the Wall Street Journal says budget cuts have come close to paralyzing Georgia’s court system:
Georgia judges are worried the system could stall. “We take an oath to uphold the laws and for people to have access to a judiciary,” state Supreme Court Chief Justice Carol W. Hunstein said in an interview.
The cutbacks, she said, “are doing real harm to the system.” She said one state judge complained to her recently that it currently takes 60 days to hold a temporary hearing for a case such as family custody, which once took a few weeks at most…..
But Georgia’s situation appears particularly severe. Because schedules and staffing have been reduced so aggressively, judges and attorneys say, the caseload appears to be backing up more quickly than in other states.
The state Supreme Court plans to gather judges from across the state in October to determine the severity of the problem, which varies in part based on additional local cutbacks in some counties.
My AJC colleague Kristi Swartz has come across some more reasonably priced economic stimulus from Washington:
Symrna-based Glock received $960 in stimulus money to equip three Department of Interior Recovery Oversight officers with 9 mm handguns.
While you ponder that, consider these items found while perusing this morning’s ajc.com:
Your congressman’s vacation — and who paid for it. Some bills by Georgia lawmakers on the Washington road to nowhere. Atlanta mayoral candidate Reed brims with confidence. Armed robbery reported near Georgia Tech. Debate brews over list for U.S. attorney. Vouchers program thrills, frustrates parents. Sandy Springs wants out of Voting Rights Act. Public-private plan for reservoir has its supporters. DeKalb County tightens rules on teachers enrolling their children. Jobless benefits running dry for many.
Some opinion:
Cynthia Tucker wants you to remember the socialist origins of Labor Day. Kyle Wingfield thinks Democrats are the ideologues on health care.
From elsewhere in Georgia:
InsiderAdvantage: Has some of the calculus just changed in Atlanta’s race for mayor? Gwinnett Post: County to pick citizen budget panel. SMN: Saxby’s bumby ride — and the road ahead. Augusta Chronicle: Reactor opponents challenge law funding work.
And beyond:
WSJ: Key week for Obama starts on a feisty note. NYT: A closely watched Warren Buffet recalculates his bets. Daily Beast: Mark Sanford on his “secret agent” mission.
For instant updates, follow me on Twitter.
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17 comments Add your comment
Cynthia Tucker McKinney
September 8th, 2009
9:51 am
If Obama had not released that stupid hero worship lesson plan, then it would not have been a big deal. You add that stupid self-aggrandizing lesson plan to the gov’t take over of the Banks, GM and the new push for government-run health care; plus the recent memory of his flubbing of the belligerent Harvard professor case and now the news that he was forced to fire one of his communist, racist inner circle (Jones) jerks…then one cannot blame parents being concerned.
Gman
September 8th, 2009
10:05 am
You sir are an absolute arse!
Roark84
September 8th, 2009
10:42 am
Jim needs a memory jolt: What this looney, so-called political insider fails to remember is that the Dem controlled congress in ‘91 viciously attacked and ordered a congressional investigation after President George H.W. Bush spoke to a junior high in DC.
Lucas
September 8th, 2009
11:02 am
“If your kid. Comes home.” etc. Hehe. You know what they say – short sentences (or fragments) are one of the hallmarks of a virtuoso communicator. Well, they don’t say that, but it appears to be true. Nice column as always, Jim.
Jeff
September 8th, 2009
11:12 am
What “government takeover of the banks”? What “push for government-run health care”?
Laura Armstrong
September 8th, 2009
11:16 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOtGr1JFCnE
Owl Gore
September 8th, 2009
11:18 am
If your kid axes you for a teleprompter for Christmas you know where they got the idea.
Samuel Adams
September 8th, 2009
11:21 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qr3v7Vsg3uY “We’re gonna change it and rearrange it” USING THE CHILDREN
atlantapril
September 8th, 2009
1:16 pm
@ Laura…that was a drill team performance…if you’ve ever seen a Black fraternity or sorority step show, you would know that those are fairly innocuous happenings…this drill team just decided to use Obama’s life story as an inspiration for one of their routines. Trust me, no one is going to show up at your house demanding your children come outside and join an Obama drill team. Is it possible to discuss and disagree without the overheated backdrop of paranoia and fear? Just askin’.
Chris Mathews is covered in his own spittle
September 8th, 2009
1:23 pm
Those kids had thrills running up thier legs. Just like Mathews. Great, illustrative video.
B Williams
September 8th, 2009
1:43 pm
To the AJC editorial staff: Please do some research.
President George H.W. Bush gave an address to schools nationwide in 1991, from a junior high school in Washington, D.C. News reports from the time said the White House hoped that the address would be shown at schools nationwide, and Bush began his remarks by saying he was talking to “millions” of students “in classrooms all across the country.”
You can read Bush’s complete remarks via the Web site of his presidential library. Here’s an excerpt:
“When it comes to your own education, what I’m saying is take control. Don’t say school is boring and blame it on your teachers. Make your teachers work hard. Tell them you want a first-class education. Tell them that you’re here to learn. Block out the kids who think it’s not cool to be smart. I can’t understand for the life of me what’s so great about being stupid. …
“If you don’t work hard, who gets hurt? If you cheat, who pays the price? If you cut corners, if you hunt for the easy A, who comes up short? Easy answer to that one: You do. You’re in control, but you are not alone. People want you to succeed. They want to help you succeed.”
The presidential library noted that the president spoke at 12:15 p.m. and that his remarks were “broadcast live by the Cable News Network, the Public Broadcasting System, the Mutual Broadcasting System, and the NBC radio network.”
You may have guessed this already, but news reports from the time indicate that Democrats criticized Bush for giving the speech.
“The Department of Education should not be producing paid political advertising for the president, it should be helping us to produce smarter students,” said Rep. Richard Gephardt, then the Democratic majority leader in the House of Representatives.”And the president should be doing more about education than saying, ‘Lights, camera, action.’”
Patricia Schroeder, then a Democratic member of Congress from Colorado, said the speech showed “the arrogance of power,” and that the White House should not be “using precious dollars for campaigns” when “we are struggling for every silly dime we can get” for education.
Republicans, though, defended the right of the president to address students. “Why is it political for the president of the United States to discuss education?” asked Newt Gingrich, who was then the House Republican whip. “It was done at a nonpolitical site and was beamed to a nonpolitical audience. . . . They wanted to reach the maximum audience with the maximum effect to improve education.”
We also found that Ronald Reagan took questions from high school students at the White House in 1986, and the question-and-answer session was broadcast nationally.
Reagan urged the students to stay in school and say no to drugs, but he also discussed overtly political matters, such as national defense funding, nuclear disarmament and — in suprising policy detail — taxes. (Read Reagan’s complete remarks.)
source: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/sep/03/arne-duncan/barack-obama-not-first-president-address-school-ch/
Wackolibhack
September 8th, 2009
3:12 pm
It is Bush’s fault that Obama put out a self-aggrandizing lesson plan that had to be pulled. It is Bush’s fault that we even need education in this country. I hate Bush!!!!!!
Bill Stanley
September 8th, 2009
7:11 pm
I don’t remember Bush trying to organize a ‘volunteer’ youth movement.
Al Tate
September 8th, 2009
8:52 pm
The furor over President Obama’s school speech is very disturbing for two reasons. First it is tragic that our schools are failing to do an adequate job of educating our children. Education is in real trouble and anything the President or anyone else can do to help motivate our schoolchildren should be welcomed. Second, the political split in our country has widened to the point that it has become more important to the Republican Ideologues to attack the President than to focus on trying to support the children of our country. When the Republicans were in power, some of the Democrats did the same thing. Radical radio and TV talk programs are doing a great disservice to our nation by twisting the truth and focusing on generating conflict in every way possible. It works great to improve ratings, but it divides people and scares them into foolish things. Many people in Georgia have become very worked up about Obama’s school speech, afraid that there was some evil intent to indoctrinate our youth behind it. How strange it is for such patriotic citizens to be manipulated to the extent that they are afraid for their own children to hear our President. Wake up people! We are all it this Nation together. United we stand, divided we fall. This is not a football game where which side wins or looses is all important today but not really important in the grand scheme of life. America is is a grand experiment in government that we have been conducting for over 200 years. Historically we have thrived on controversy and have developed rules that allow for all sides of a controversy to be heard. If both sides are willing to listen and willing to respect the opinions of the other, some common ground of truth can usually be found. However, when your point of view becomes the only point of view; when the strategy of winning for your party is more important than the issue at hand, then reality gets lost in the conflict.
Taking children out of school to prohibit them from hearing the President, or school officials refusing to permit them to hear his speech demonstrates a mindless fear of our own elected government. It is against the fundamental principles of our country and contrary to the idea of educating our children in an open and questioning academic environment.
Nothing about this crazy reaction to our President’s address to students is good for our country. It does show clearly that some Republican Radicals have a much stronger interest in regaining power than in improving education in America. And that, fellow Americans does not look promising for our future.
david
September 9th, 2009
4:54 am
Cynthia Tucker McKinney, contard, do you think that Obama released that lesson plan himself? You are what is wrong with Amerika.
Cynthia Tucker McKinney
September 9th, 2009
8:20 am
No, David, but his White House did. The buck stops with him, right? Or did Bush do it? Grow a pair you, lib panty waste.
You all Stupid as HELL!
September 10th, 2009
12:01 pm
I am talking to the Stupid Azz people who don’t respect the President and his views- You respected Bush so Respect Obama- if you don’t like him then your under qualified Azz should have ran for president..( But you didn’t so shut-up) stop being so Damn Racist and Grow Up! If you don’t like our President who by the way no matter what you say or do is still your President!( unless you get the hell out of Dodge!)So shut your face or move so far away so you don’t have to have him as your President! Get over it all ready…This man has not harmed your kids what so ever… You are going to do more harm to your kids then help them in the way they are all being raised! GET OVER IT ALREADY!