Obama's Speech transcript

[FunkyTown]

Yeah, this is new behavior just in the last 8 months. No one ever said anything bad about Bush or even implied that he is some kind of stupid when he was president.

Touche', John Doe. Here's the problem:

On THIS website, 'We hate BUSH' threads are a far-cry minority to 'We hate Obama' threads.

I defended Bush on other websites at the beginning of his term: I said that his response to September 11th was very measured despite the very real danger that an overresponse would have plunged the world in to WWIII. I defended his position on a missile defense system, despite it destabilizing relations with Russia. I defended it because I believe in it.

I believe Obama should be defended from many of these ridiculous, over-the-top attacks. Can you imagine how tired you would have gotten if every other thread you saw when you clicked 'New threads' showed yet another thread about George Bush and the war in Iraq and how that proved he was a fascist? Try to imagine how tired you would have gotten if every thread talked about how every conservative was a goose-stepping fascist intent on destroying America with an unwinnable war. Now, imagine how non-Conservative members of the church feel when they come on here.

Obama has a terrible fiscal policy. I get it. That doesn't make him a crazy Communist intent on destroying Americas freedoms. Did the liberals paint Bush in the same manner? Of course. But we're bigger than our political biases. This website should have members who can empathize with everyone in the church regardless of political leanings.

Sadly, we have some members that can't see past that.

EDIT: You know, now that I think about it, I think part of the issue may be that the liberals deeply polarized the US during the Bush years. I think Reagan was the beginning of a very polarized state of affairs, but the vicious hatred has only come about in the past 10 years. Clinton had more of a sullen disrespect than a raging hatred placed towards him by conservatives.

Edited September 8, 2009 by FunkyTown

[FunkyTown]

Oh come now...we're doomed if we do and doormats if we don't. Democrats probably patted themselves on the back for protecting kids from politicization back then, with media backing. Now, Republicans, who point out the same concerns, are petulant teenagers playing "gotcha back?" Personally, I was unaware of Bush or Reagan's speeches, doubt they were broadcast in nearly as many schools, and my honest first reaction was, "What...Obama's jealous of Kim Jongil?"

I should point out that I was Canadian and Reagan's 'Evil Empire speech' was broadcast in to my school. I was in grade one and I still remember quite vividly that speech despite being 6 years old. It was made in to quite a big deal.

Television that defined my generation in school:

Evil Empire speech.

Challenger disaster.

Fall of Berlin wall.

[talisyn]

On a serious note, I'm disappointed to see which role he relegates to teachers, parents, and the government. Respectively:

Teachers are supposed to inspire and teach.

Parents are supposed to keep kids on track, make sure kids get their homework done, and not let them waste their lives on TV and video games.

The government's job is to set high standards, support the teachers and principals, and fix the schools that are't working.

Anyone else think that the parents have been relegated to the sidelines in this scenario, and its the government's job to make sure that the whole situation improves?

Subtle things like that are the reason that (if I had kids) I'd have them wait until they got home to watch it, with me.

Have you tried to get kids off the video games? It's like they're wired like Neo. Don't get me started on homework. Trust me, Maxel, the tasks listed for parents are not small, nor insignificant!

[Guest]

Have you tried to get kids off the video games?

Yes. It's not THAT hard. In my house: Video games allowed only on Friday night and Saturday. TV is allowed only after homework is done and only for 1 hour maximum. This goes for kids AND adults. Although, adults have the option to turn on the TV after kids are in bed.

It's just a matter of setting down rules and abiding by them.

[MrsAri]

I support the separation of school and state.

[FunkyTown]

I support the separation of school and state.

I'm not certain what this means. Does this mean you don't believe that the government should fund or run public schools? If so, you are in the minority.

[Maxel]

Have you tried to get kids off the video games? It's like they're wired like Neo. Don't get me started on homework. Trust me, Maxel, the tasks listed for parents are not small, nor insignificant!

talisyn: I know how hard it can be, especially in the cases of some children (case in point: I was addicted to video games my entire childhood. It was a coping mechanism.). However, the parent is the one responsible for setting the high goals, inspiring, etc. Relegating them to cold regulators is bad policy, IMO.

[Jenamarie]

Just watched the speech. AWESOME!!

[prisonchaplain]

I'm not certain what this means. Does this mean you don't believe that the government should fund or run public schools? If so, you are in the minority.

:::sigh::: Humor is more caught than taught . . .

[prisonchaplain]

I should point out that I was Canadian and Reagan's 'Evil Empire speech' was broadcast in to my school. I was in grade one and I still remember quite vividly that speech despite being 6 years old. It was made in to quite a big deal.

Television that defined my generation in school:

Evil Empire speech.

Challenger disaster.

Fall of Berlin wall.

Are you really telling me that the Reagan administration OCHESTRATED the broadcast of his speeches into Canadian public schools??? My goodness...international broadcast imperialism at its worst!!!

[bytor2112]

My wife, our First Lady Michelle Obama, has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn’t have much. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country.

Lies sound SO much better than truth...when you are a politician. Michelle Obama came from a middle class family, they lived in a nice brick home and her father earned $42,000 dollars per year......hardly not having much.

Michelle's parents home

[bytor2112]

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.

Seriously....where is the ACLU???? Separation of church and state.....how dare he!!!!

[skalenfehl]

My local radio talk show host played a clip of President Obama's speech backwards. You could hear voices saying "Socialism! Socialism!"

He used a lot of fun sarcasm to describe his dismay at so may people's negative reactions about this speech and he's as conservative as they come.

[ferretrunner]

It was a good speech. I think the audience targeted was too large. There is a huge difference between a kindergartener's ability to think abstractly and a senior in high school. My guess is the lower elementary aged children were bored to tears and didn't understand half of the concepts presented in the speech. What is it with politicians? And educators? If they wanted something meaningful for all the kids, they needed at least 3 different speeches targeting the different developmental stages. For the youngest kids, a 5-10 minute talk would suffice. Geesh.

[ferretrunner]

Lies sound SO much better than truth...when you are a politician. Michelle Obama came from a middle class family, they lived in a nice brick home and her father earned $42,000 dollars per year......hardly not having much.

Michelle's parents home

Did they own or rent? And it all depends on your definition of "not much." Compared to the life style they have now, as adults, she didn't "have much." The Obamas are close in age to me. My father made just about as much as the First Lady's. My family had one income and three kids. We lived a tight budget. We did have money for food, shelter, and clothing but it was tight at times. Perhaps it wasn't a deliberate lie. Perhaps her family lived paycheck to paycheck without much left over, similar to mine? idk. Just a thought.

[Maxel]

Even if Michelle Obama's home life is as you stated, ferretrunner, "not much" in America is much, much better then "not much" in Indonesia. Obama goes into detail about how hard he worked to get where he is, and then says his wife comes from comparable circumstances (emphasis on comprable material circumstance).

A minor point, I know. But I'm an evil conservative making a mountain out of a molehill!

[bytor2112]

Did they own or rent? And it all depends on your definition of "not much." Compared to the life style they have now, as adults, she didn't "have much." The Obamas are close in age to me. My father made just about as much as the First Lady's. My family had one income and three kids. We lived a tight budget. We did have money for food, shelter, and clothing but it was tight at times. Perhaps it wasn't a deliberate lie. Perhaps her family lived paycheck to paycheck without much left over, similar to mine? idk. Just a thought.

Own.... and lie is a bit strong...exaggeration, Obama likes to do that. Obama himself is the third generation of his family to attend college, his grandmother was a bank vp and his mother was a PHD.

[Palerider]

Actually I was going to mention Bush's speech, but my post was already so long I thought it would get lost in it.

I did not know about Gephard'ts accusations, but I'm not surprised.

I am amazed at the short-term memory loss our elected officials suffer from. After all, 1991 is not all that long ago, and you would think the Republicans would remember how juvenile the Democrats were coming up with absurd accusations of "Paid Political Advertising."

Instead, they act like petulant teenagers, reveling in an "I got you back!" mindset.

Bleh.

I could never forget about Dick Gephardt....and being from Missouri...he was one of my favorite politicians..

his real name is....Dick(I am for anything that will get me elected) Gephardt.....:):)

[FunkyTown]

Are you really telling me that the Reagan administration OCHESTRATED the broadcast of his speeches into Canadian public schools??? My goodness...international broadcast imperialism at its worst!!!

Hahah. Of course not. He intended to broadcast to the whole world and Canadian public schools just necessarily were included in that.

The Evil Empire speech was one of the most influential speeches of its time. The fact that it was so grim and stark was, to a 6 year old mind, a very frightening thing.

So, while this was kind of a joking question, PC, I should point out that broadcasting a speech to the whole world will reach a child just as quickly as a focused broadcast at schools. Did anyone berate Reagan for fearmongering? I honestly don't know. Then again, I don't believe that they should berate Reagan OR Obama. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Reagan.