# Oh NOEZ!!!1!!1! Obama to Give Socialist Indoctrination Talk to School Children!!! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 2, 2009, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noez-1-1-obama-to-give-socialist-indoctrination-talk-to-school-children/508645 "2009-09-02T16:35:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noez-1-1-obama-to-give-socialist-indoctrination-talk-to-school-children/508645/81 "2009-09-04T00:38:26Z")
> [@Kolga](#): > > Well, I was and am sincere about whether or not an elected public official ever encouraged parents to boycott a Bush speech or event. Because, you know, the people posting in this thread aren’t ELECTED PUBLIC OFFICIALS ENCOURAGING PARENTS TO BOYCOTT A SPEECH BY THE PRESIDENT. I don’t understand why you can’t see why that’s concerning to me - an elected official encouraging parents and children to actively disrespect the office of the president because of its occupant, when I guaran-damn-tee if the roles were reversed, there would be ranting and raving by Rush and Beck the likes of which we have not yet seen. Yes, there would. > [@](#): > > And “encourating kids to view the president as an inspiring figure?” Regardless of your opinion of the president, his story IS inspiring - a biracial child from a “broken” home became the leader of the free world. That IS inspiring, is it not? Yes, it is. As I said, I don’t have a problem with it. > [@](#): > > “Write about what they can do to help the president” is concerning? Why? To me, in general, it’s not. If the speech ends up talking about healthcare or global warming, it might be. If it had been Bush talking to kids about Terrorism, it would have bothered many on the left. Since the planned text of the speech was not released, the easily-excited types were easily excited. It probably would have been a good idea to announce this earlier, and to release the text of the speech. It _is_ unprecedented, and the reaction among the reactionaries was forseeable. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noez-1-1-obama-to-give-socialist-indoctrination-talk-to-school-children/508645/82 "2009-09-04T00:46:33Z")
He’s wasting my time with my daughter. Unless he’s a fellow six year old, has pizza on hand or can meow and purr she’s not interested. ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noez-1-1-obama-to-give-socialist-indoctrination-talk-to-school-children/508645/83 "2009-09-04T00:49:21Z")
> [@furt](#): > > It probably would have been a good idea to announce this earlier, and to release the text of the speech. It _is_ unprecedented, and the reaction among the reactionaries was forseeable. You think the answer to this, rather than to call the reactionaries on their utter lunacy, is for Obama to release text of speeches so that the reactionaries can pre-approve his words? ---
**Author:** ![Orbifold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/779978/32.png) [@Orbifold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orbifold)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noez-1-1-obama-to-give-socialist-indoctrination-talk-to-school-children/508645/84 "2009-09-04T00:50:52Z")
> [@furt](#): > > It _is_ unprecedented, … Oh, bullshit. Ronald Reagan gave a national address to schoolchildren in the United States in 1988. He praised the “moral vision” of the Founding Fathers and American economic policies, and he took questions on gun control during a Q&A afterwards. [Here.](http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1988/111488c.htm) But we can’t have Obama “indoctrinating” school kids. That’s “unprecedented”. ---
**Author:** ![StaudtCJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@StaudtCJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StaudtCJ)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noez-1-1-obama-to-give-socialist-indoctrination-talk-to-school-children/508645/85 "2009-09-04T00:52:47Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > And the concern is…? Is there anything they are really concerned about, beyond “He’s a Democrat!” ? But, didn’t you know, he is BLACK! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noez-1-1-obama-to-give-socialist-indoctrination-talk-to-school-children/508645/86 "2009-09-04T00:54:59Z")
> [@Kolga](#): > > You think the answer to this, rather than to call the reactionaries on their utter lunacy, is for Obama to release text of speeches so that the reactionaries can pre-approve his words? I said what I meant. Approval or diapproval has nothing to do with it. You’re spinning, in search of an argument. Bye. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noez-1-1-obama-to-give-socialist-indoctrination-talk-to-school-children/508645/87 "2009-09-04T00:55:10Z")
[The latest in what the respected punditocracy on the conservative side of the aisle are saying.](http://michellemalkin.com/2009/09/02/obama%E2%80%99s-classroom-campaign-no-junior-lobbyist-left-behind/) ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noez-1-1-obama-to-give-socialist-indoctrination-talk-to-school-children/508645/88 "2009-09-04T01:01:44Z")
> [@furt](#): > > I said what I meant. Why would prior release of his speech defuse the protests? ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noez-1-1-obama-to-give-socialist-indoctrination-talk-to-school-children/508645/89 "2009-09-04T01:03:46Z")
> [@furt](#): > > I said what I meant. Approval or diapproval has nothing to do with it. You’re spinning, in search of an argument. Bye. I’m sorry you feel that way, because I’m not searching for an argument. I’m searching for a statement about why this reaction is not being called out for the utter lunacy that it is. As you have already seen, previous presidents have given speeches to schoolchildren, so this is not exactly unprecedented. Releasing text so that the lunatics will be less likely to be lunatics is pandering to their lunacy, and is not the answer. The answer, I believe (YMMV, obviously), is to say to the lunatics “The President of the United States is giving an address to children, and you will respect the office of the presidency if not the holder.” You know, the same kind of thing that would have been said had the tables been turned. Why, seriously, are there no public statements by national Republican leaders to address this disrespect? ---
**Author:** ![newcrasher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b3f665/32.png) [@newcrasher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcrasher)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noez-1-1-obama-to-give-socialist-indoctrination-talk-to-school-children/508645/90 "2009-09-04T01:28:17Z")
I hear he is going to read “My Pet Goat”. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noez-1-1-obama-to-give-socialist-indoctrination-talk-to-school-children/508645/91 "2009-09-04T01:51:33Z")
On October 1, 1991, George H. W. Bush pitches his education plan in a speech broadcast to school classrooms nationwide: [http://www.dailykostv.com/w/002099/](http://www.dailykostv.com/w/002099/) With a little luck, some of these lunatics will die of apoplexy each time Obama gives a speech. That will cause America to become a better place for the rest of us to live. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noez-1-1-obama-to-give-socialist-indoctrination-talk-to-school-children/508645/92 "2009-09-04T02:08:38Z")
The White House has had to rewrite some of the script because of the flap. Obama was [originally](http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/09/school-districts-in-six-states-to-refrain-from-showing-presidential-address-next-week.html)going to ask kids to “Write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president.” If the President has this much free time I would urge him to write a letter to himself describing how he’s going to fix the financial crisis. It takes an incredible amount of hubris for a President to think the educational system is better served by listening to his words of wisdom rather than focusing on the curriculum he’s interrupting. ---
**Author:** ![Orbifold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/779978/32.png) [@Orbifold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orbifold)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noez-1-1-obama-to-give-socialist-indoctrination-talk-to-school-children/508645/93 "2009-09-04T02:13:01Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > It takes an incredible amount of hubris for a President to think the educational system is better served by listening to his words of wisdom rather than focusing on the curriculum he’s interrupting. It must take an astounding amount of cognitive dissonance to say this about Obama without even acknowledging the two differerent Republican presidents that did the same thing that have already been mentioned in this very thread. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noez-1-1-obama-to-give-socialist-indoctrination-talk-to-school-children/508645/94 "2009-09-04T02:19:27Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > If the President has this much free time How much, though? An hour, an hour and a half, maybe, on both his and the kids’ parts (and honestly, I think an hour and a half listening to the President presents all sorts of learning opportunities, so it’s not like the time is wasted)? Some time by some speechwriter (whose job, you’ll admit, is only partly related to actually running the country)? If an hour and a half is that important to solving the nation’s problems, he can make up for it by going to bed at 1:30 am instead of midnight (or whatever). ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noez-1-1-obama-to-give-socialist-indoctrination-talk-to-school-children/508645/95 "2009-09-04T02:21:37Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > It takes an incredible amount of hubris for a President to think the educational system is better served by listening to his words of wisdom rather than focusing on the curriculum he’s interrupting. Damn straight. Heavens forbid that schoolchildren should be exposed to the President of the United States. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noez-1-1-obama-to-give-socialist-indoctrination-talk-to-school-children/508645/96 "2009-09-04T02:23:26Z")
> [@Kolga](#): > > The answer, I believe (YMMV, obviously), is to say to the lunatics “The President of the United States is giving an address to children, and you will respect the office of the presidency if not the holder.” You know, the same kind of thing that would have been said had the tables been turned. > > Why, seriously, are there no public statements by national Republican leaders to address this disrespect? The answer is that _you should have done then what we’re doing now._ Of course you back the guy when it’s your guy. And of course the other side backs their guy when it’s their guy. And since we know that, there _ **should** _ be outright disrespect for the office of the presidency: he should be tirelessly scrutinized and routinely derided precisely _ **because** _ Republicans will claim otherwise when it’s their guy in office, just like Democrats now claim otherwise for their guy. It’s all too easy for a man in that position to get deference while cloaked in authority; you’re demonstrating it right there, with a knee-jerk YOU WILL RESPECT THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENCY. Bush shouldn’t have gotten that; Obama shouldn’t get that; the right is trying to stop Obama from getting that; where were you when the tables were turned? ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noez-1-1-obama-to-give-socialist-indoctrination-talk-to-school-children/508645/97 "2009-09-04T02:24:17Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > Damn straight. Heavens forbid that schoolchildren should be exposed to the President of the United States. You’re thinking about Clinton. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noez-1-1-obama-to-give-socialist-indoctrination-talk-to-school-children/508645/98 "2009-09-04T02:26:34Z")
> [@Orbifold](#): > > It must take an astounding amount of cognitive dissonance to say this about Obama without even acknowledging the two differerent Republican presidents that did the same thing that have already been mentioned in this very thread. Only if you’re so blind to think it doesn’t apply to both parties. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noez-1-1-obama-to-give-socialist-indoctrination-talk-to-school-children/508645/99 "2009-09-04T02:32:58Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Only if you’re so blind to think it doesn’t apply to both parties. Did you, in fact, make it clear that your post applies to both parties? I certainly did not interpret it so. Is it, in fact, your stance that no President of the United States should speak to schoolchildren? ---
**Author:** ![elelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noez-1-1-obama-to-give-socialist-indoctrination-talk-to-school-children/508645/100 "2009-09-04T02:33:52Z")
“The curricullum he’s interrupting”??? The President of the United States is addressing the children of the country he has been elected to be the leader of, and as a leader might do, encourage them to stay in school and work hard , which can only make this a better country. By his particular complexion, and achievement, this address might hit home with more kids than usual, who can see that, yes, it is possible for **everyone** in the US to be included in that upward mobility. Go ahead. This is really the point of shaking my head, off the wall craziness with the reactionary faction against Obama. I can’t imagine what weird boogeymen would occupy space in the skullbones of anyone who would be against a Presidential address to encourage kids to succeed in school. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noez-1-1-obama-to-give-socialist-indoctrination-talk-to-school-children/508645.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-noez-1-1-obama-to-give-socialist-indoctrination-talk-to-school-children/508645.md?page=6)