There seems to be some controversy brewing regarding the President’s upcoming address to schoolchildren tomorrow. Having read the speech (link below courtesy Yahoo! News), I can honestly say that I don’t understand the problem.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090907/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_school_speech_text

Agree with him politically or not, Barack Obama is the President of the United States. That, in itself, deserves our respect, regardless of how vehemently we may disagree with his policies.

The speech, at its most basic, calls on students to work hard and to stay in school. It reminds children that they have a duty to their Nation to work hard and to succeed. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. In fact, hard work and self-reliance are pillars of conservative philosophy. So why would some criticize this speech?

The answer is simple: there are elements of the Republican Party and of the conservative movement that will fight against absolutely anything the President does, regardless of how benign the action may be. This is dangerous.

For starters, America can’t miss the Republican Party if we’re never really gone. There are times when we should simply nod and give silent support to our President. This is one such time. If we waste our energy balking at every single little move the President makes, then we sound reactionary. We are better than that.

Second, we want leaders to address schoolchildren. It’s important for kids to feel somehow connected to their government, otherwise they will grow up to think that they have no stake in America’s wellbeing.

I, for one, am glad that America’s students will be listening to the President tomorrow. I remember a girl on my high school newspaper remarking to me about how much more she liked then-President Bush when she had a chance to hear him speak, rather than listen to analysts dissect his words. It is a fact that people feel more connected when they have the chance to listen to people like the President tell them that what they’re doing is important.

I fully support this simple decision by the President. And I hope that he—and other elected officials—takes the time to talk to American youth more often.

AS most of my readers know, we’re presently in a saber-rattling bout with the North Korean regime over their desire to construct nuclear weapons. For those who were unaware, the story can be found here:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090622/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_us_nkorea

For what it’s worth, I don’t disagree with President Obama here. We cannot allow an unstable man like Kim Jong-Il to obtain nuclear weapons capability. This would be a danger to democracy and liberty everywhere, particularly in Japan, America, and, most notably, South Korea.

In other news, Senators McCain and Lieberman have introduced a resolution demanding that America—and, of course, the president—take a harder line in defense of the people of Iran, who are calling for a free and fair election for their president. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recently claimed a landslide victory in the Iranian presidential elections. Of course, he never bothered to count the votes. The story is below:

http://www.allamericanpatriots.com/48753851-senators-lieberman-mccain-on-iran-resolution#

All of this sounds awfully familiar. Where could we have possibly heard that Iran and North Korea would become a severe problem and an amalgamated threat to freedom before the close of the decade?

“Our second goal is to prevent regimes that sponsor terror from threatening America or our friends and allies with weapons of mass destruction.  Some of these regimes have been pretty quiet since September the 11th.  But we know their true nature.  North Korea is a regime arming with missiles and weapons of mass destruction, while starving its citizens.

Iran aggressively pursues these weapons and exports terror, while an unelected few repress the Iranian people's hope for freedom.

Iraq continues to flaunt its hostility toward America and to support terror.  The Iraqi regime has plotted to develop anthrax, and nerve gas, and nuclear weapons for over a decade.  This is a regime that has already used poison gas to murder thousands of its own citizens -- leaving the bodies of mothers huddled over their dead children.  This is a regime that agreed to international inspections -- then kicked out the inspectors. This is a regime that has something to hide from the civilized world.

States like these, and their terrorist allies, constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world.”

Oh, that’s right. This came from President Bush’s 2002 State of the Union Address, otherwise known as the “Axis of Evil” speech. Bush was criticized as a “warmonger” and was absolutely lambasted in the liberal media for saying the above. He was charged with foreign policy ineptitude in the court of public opinion, and the Left said that he was full of nonsense.

Now, here we are, seven years later, and those same people on both the Left and the Right are left saying everything except the one concise phrase that sums up the whole situation: “Oops. I guess Bush was right.”

Readers, a couple weeks ago, I posted a blarticle that begged the question, “Why is it that we only notice that someone was right after it’s already too late?” Here, America did just that. Former President Bush said something that nobody wanted to hear, something that nobody wanted to admit, and something that nobody wanted to face. And he turned out to be right on the money.

It is literally saddening to me, but I’m certain that within a span of a couple of months, President Obama will give his own version of the “Axis of Evil” speech. It will be watered down. There will be little or no mention of weapons of mass destruction. The language will likely not use charged words like “evil” or “axis;” that is Republican language. But the overall message will be the same: North Korea and Iran are threats to liberty and to democracy. The world will not be safe with these regimes in power. And President Obama will be hailed as a visionary for his speech. He will be called “bold,” and “incisive.” And the media will drown him in wet, sloppy kisses.

But all the while, thinking Americans will be left with three immortal words on their lips. Three words that will pain many Americans and humiliate many more.

“Bush was right.”