Now that the speech has happened, I’ll post my follow-up to my issue with the attack on President Obama for addressing the nation’s students. I didn’t get to watch the speech (since I’m at home with no choice but dial-up) but I did read the transcript.

My final thoughts are much what I said in my initial post: President Obama is doing a great thing by telling our kids that they are ultimately responsible for their own futures.

The speech, in my opinion, was pretty straight laced and to the point. I’m sure opponents will say it was too multicultural, but there’s not much anybody can say to refute these (paraphrased) points made in the speech:

• Being successful takes hard work, which often times isn’t easy.
• You won’t love everything you learn or study in school.
• Most of us won’t be a pro athlete or reality TV star.
• People in far worse circumstances than yourself have refused to give up and ultimately succeeded in life.
• At the end of the day, what you make out of your circumstances depends on the choices you make.

I may criticize the President for numerous other things, but his telling our kids to wake up and get educated is not one of them!