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Marc Ambinder

Marc Ambinder - Marc Ambinder is the White House correspondent for National Journal and a contributing editor at The Atlantic. More

Marc Ambinder is the White House correspondent for National Journal. He previously served as the politics editor, and is now a contributing editor, for The Atlantic, where he curated the influential Politics channel on TheAtlantic.com and contributed to the magazine. He was also a chief political consultant to CBS News. Earlier, at NJ's Hotline, Ambinder was the founding editor of "Hotline On Call," a pathbreaking political news blog. He also worked as a producer and reporter for the ABC News Political Unit and was one of the founders of ABC's "The Note." Born in New York City, raised in Central Florida, Ambinder is a 2001 graduate of Harvard and lives in Washington, D.C.

Out Of Context Socialism In Barack Obama's Education Speech

By Marc Ambinder
Sep 7 2009, 1:34 PM ET Comment

I've found all the naughty socialist indoctrination in the advance text of the president's education speech tomorrow, and I've cut it out for you and annotated it, totally out of context. In bold, how an Obama hater --  someone who sincerely believes that Obama is a malevolent force -- might interpret the excerpts.
Obama: "And no matter what grade you're in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you could've stayed in bed just a little longer this morning."

But the government forces you to go to school, ha ha ha.

But I'm here today because I have something important to discuss with you. I'm here because I want to talk with you about your education and what's expected of all of you in this new school year.

What's expected? The liberal socialist president EXPECTS something from OUR children?

Now I've given a lot of speeches about education. And I've talked a lot about responsibility.


Responsibility is a code word for: redistribute income.

I've talked about your teachers' responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn.

He's threatening to physically assault children here.

I've talked about your parents' responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don't spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox.

I've talked a lot about your government's responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren't working where students aren't getting the opportunities they deserve.

You know, if Obama wasn't so in sway to the teachers unions, he wouldn't be welcome at our schools, where our kids learn the values of capitalism and freedom.

Every single one of you has something you're good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That's the opportunity an education can provide.

Self-discovery? That's a code word for homosexuality. Or, at least, for choosing a path in life that's different from what your parents want you to do. Obama is encouraging our kids to be individualists and disobey us.

Maybe you could be a good writer - maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper - but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor - maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine - but you might not know it until you do a project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a Senator or a Supreme Court Justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.

Now he's encouraging our kids to be nerds. And he just endorsed that fascist, Steve Jobs.

You'll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You'll need the insights and critical thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. You'll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy.

My head exploded. Cancer AND AIDS? in the same sentence? AIDS is a disease of choice. And it's a code word for sex ed. And it's not appropriate for the president to mention this. "Critical thinking" skills. That's like critical race theory, right? Question authority? Be a post-modernist who doesn't believe in truth? And what's with these goals: Obama is commanding our children to fight liberal pathologies like poverty and homelessness and crime and -- even discrimination -- he wants our kids to learn skills so they can grow up and and discriminate against white men -- and I bet the communists will object to Obama's contention that education ought to be harnessed to economic growth, too.

I get it. I know what that's like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn't always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn't fit in.

Where were you born, sir?


So I wasn't always as focused as I should have been. I did some things I'm not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.

But I was fortunate. I got a lot of second chances and had the opportunity to go to college, and law school, and follow my dreams. 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.

Now he's saying that our kids should expect to BE like Obama?

Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you don't have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job, and there's not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don't feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren't right.

Oh God. He is implying something really pernicious here. He is insinuating that not every child has the same access to the social capital that allows their participation in healthy societies. This is an argument for socialism, plain and simple. He's urging the kids to think of themselves as victims.

That's why today, I'm calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education - and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending time each day reading a book. Maybe you'll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you'll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you'll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, I hope you'll all wash your hands a lot, and stay home from school when you don't feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.

Liberals out there -- you see? You see? What are the president's priorities? He's encouraging rebellion against authority. He's encouraging individual exploration. He's encouraging everyone to become community organizers like himself.  Where's the value of hard work? Of discipline? Or doing homework every night?

Don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of strength.

Not when you're a president, it's not.

Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.

Another hidden appeal to ObamaNation. What an abomination.

The story of America isn't about people who quit when things got tough. It's about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best.
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