The "Socialist" President Tells Kids to Stay in School -- Just Like Other Presidents Before Him

I doubt that many of the people seen at rallies wailing about President Obama being a "socialist" even have a working definition of the word (or perhaps even the ability to spell it). Holding aside that gratuitous insult based on reality, their recent panic attack over Obama's fictional effort to bring his nonexistent socialist/fascist/radical/Nazist message to school children was exposed as (yet another) disparate reaction to Obama (as compared to other presidents).

Obama Leads to Panic Attack, But Other Presidents Did Not
The White House released a document which shows that several other presidents have delivered "back-to-school" speeches to students, without causing a severe clinically paranoid reaction among either the Right or Left. The document shows that George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Ronald Reagan addressed school children in order to inspire academic achievement. I suppose it's one of those cheesy things that presidents do.

"First Ladies" have done this as well. Laura Bush, for example, had a literacy campaign for kids, and Nancy Reagan went around telling kids about the perils of drug use. Hillary Clinton said she was not going to sit around baking cookies, and conservatives treated the comment as treasonous behavior. I guess people expect "ladies" to nurture kids and give them warm cookies. When a man does it, perhaps he's up to something. Well, apparently, just some men.....

Content of Speech Also Released; Makes Critics Look Looney
The White House also released the content of the speech. Reading it makes the critics look "looney" (for lack of a nicer -- yet accurate -- word). Here is some of the socialist propaganda Obama is communicating to students:

[A]t 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. . . .

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.

Isn't this exactly the stuff that conservatives say they want (poor) kids to hear? I certainly wish that I had heard this type of message from an authority figure when I was in school. And I am sure that some other kids from low-income backgrounds like myself will find inspiration in Obama's words. So: Let this go, people. An apology would be nice as well. But I will settle for a simple "We were wrong."