Criticism about presidential school speech reflects tensions

After a political opponent gave a public warning of anticipated policy rhetoric in an upcoming presidential address; President Obama delivered the speech to students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Va., on Tuesday, September 8.

This event occurred in the middle of a political battle for health care legislation the administration desires. Some questions also surrounded the White House regarding the suitability of unvetted White House appointees, after the a resignation for unfavorable statements by an appointee. As was reported in the New York Times.

The most strenuous, public objection to the speech was made by Jim Greer, Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida. In a September 1 press release, Greer expressed displeasure that “taxpayer dollars are being used to spread President Obama's socialist ideology [by giving the speech to students].

University of Tampa professor of psychology, Dr. G. Jeffrey Klepfer, was reached for comment. He said, “I think the furor that erupted around it was really unfortunate and I personally fail to understand what it was. In my opinion, it was pretty heavily politicized. And I can certainly understand that kind of political response-after he gave a speech in which he tried to turn our children into a bunch of socialists, but prior to that it, strikes me as a little ridiculous.”

Both an early release of Obama's planned remarks and lesson plans, tailored to his speech by the Department of Education, were made available the day before on Monday, September 7.

In response to the text of the planned speech, Greer reversed his previous reservations and approved of Obama's message in a New York Times interview. Although he hedged his revised opinion of the address by saying that “it remains to be seen if it’s the speech he’s going to give.”

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, on the CBS program “Face the Nation,” Sunday, September 6, said that viewing of the speech by students was to be “purely voluntary.” He also noted that the last time a sitting president gave an education address to the nation's students was in 1991.

The recent concerns regarding a president's communication with students were not without historical precedent.

As reported in a September 8 television broadcast of Fox News Channel's “Special Report with Brett Baier,” both presidential remarks ultimately contained non-political advice to students regarding the importance of individual duty and education for success. “That's what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you [students] has for your education,” said Obama.

“I think it's best that the children make the best out of the education that they have here, because in a lot of other countries they don't have it. So I think it's very important that he [Obama] did that, that he call out and reach out to the children,” said Armand Kalugdan, a UT Sophmore, about the speech.

As the fears of an indoctrination attempt in Obama's speech proved unfounded, so too were subsequent criticism made after President Bush's October 1, 1991 address to the Alice Deal Junior High School in Washington. Bush said in 1991, “Progress starts when we ask more of ourselves, our schools and, yes, you, our students.”

In response, Democratic House majority leader Richard A. Gephardt said in 1991, the speech was “paid political advertising for the president.” A House Education and Labor Committee hearing found no misuse of taxpayer's money in the production of the presidential message.

UT professor of government, Dr. Kevin S. Fridy, said about the speech, “it's something in which the tone of the speech and the content of the speech, I think, are fairly well accepted by most parents: stay in school, work hard, listen to you teachers, listen to your parents. But I can understand why critics think it is a way to propagandize. I mean, anytime a president gets on [television] and tries to shape public opinion; that's essentially what it is. That being said, that's what we elected them to do. So as far as those types of things go, it's pretty benign."