US President Barack Obama steered clear of politics in a pep talk to students that sparked controversy among conservatives, who accused him of trying to indoctrinate US children.
Presidents often visit schools, and Obama was not the first one to offer a back-to-school address aimed at millions of students in every grade. Yet several conservative organizations and many concerned parents warned Obama was trying to sell his political agenda through his speech to children on Tuesday.
That concern was caused in part by an accompanying administration lesson plan encouraging students to “help the president,” which the White House later revised.
In his speech, Obama challenged the nation’s students to take pride and ownership in their education — and stick with it even if they don’t like every class or must overcome tough circumstances at home.
“Every single one of you has something that you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer,” Obama told students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia, and children watching his speech on television in schools across the country. “And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is.”
Obama, accompanied by Education Secretary Arne Duncan, met with some 40 students gathered in a school library before the speech carried on the C-SPAN cable channel and on the White House Web site.
The uproar over his speech followed Obama to Virginia, near Washington, as his motorcade was greeted by a small band of protesters. One carried a sign exclaiming: “Mr President, stay away from our kids.”
During his meeting inside, one young person asked why the country doesn’t have universal health insurance.
“I think we need it. I think we can do it,” Obama replied.
The president said the country can afford to insure all Americans and that doing so will save money in the long run.
Meanwhile, Obama was to take on the bitter healthcare reform debate yesterday with a high-stakes speech to the US Congress on his top domestic policy priority.
Aides have promised Obama’s nationally televised address will provide specifics about his vision for overhauling the US$2.5 trillion US healthcare system — although they said he will not offer his own legislation.
“The president will outline his plan moving forward,” both on healthcare and how to get a bill passed by Congress, spokesman Robert Gibbs said. “I don’t think you’ll walk away confused about where he is.”
Obama told ABC News in an interview he would use his speech to “make sure that Democrats and Republicans understand that I’m open to new ideas, that we’re not being rigid and ideological about this thing, but we do intend to get something done this year.”
One administration official said the president would articulate his vision of bringing affordable coverage to those who do not have insurance and more security to those who do.
“His plan will bring reforms that will reduce the unsustainable growth in the cost of health care, which has doubled in the last decade and will again, unless we act,” said the official, who requested anonymity.
The address to a joint session of Congress will start at 8pm in Washington and last for about 30 minutes, Gibbs said. Polls say many Americans plan to watch.
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
CONFLICTING REPORTS: Beijing said it was ‘not familiar with the matter’ when asked if Chinese jets were used in the conflict, after Pakistan’s foreign minister said they were The Pakistan Army yesterday said it shot down 25 Indian drones, a day after the worst violence between the nuclear-armed rivals in two decades. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed to retaliate after India launched deadly missile strikes on Wednesday morning, escalating days of gunfire along their border. At least 45 deaths were reported from both sides following Wednesday’s violence, including children. Pakistan’s military said in a statement yesterday that it had “so far shot down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones” at multiple location across the country. “Last night, India showed another act of aggression by sending drones to multiple locations,” Pakistan military spokesman Ahmed
SUPPORT: The Australian prime minister promised to back Kyiv against Russia’s invasion, saying: ‘That’s my government’s position. It was yesterday. It still is’ Left-leaning Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday basked in his landslide election win, promising a “disciplined, orderly” government to confront cost-of-living pain and tariff turmoil. People clapped as the 62-year-old and his fiancee, Jodie Haydon, who visited his old inner Sydney haunt, Cafe Italia, surrounded by a crowd of jostling photographers and journalists. Albanese’s Labor Party is on course to win at least 83 seats in the 150-member parliament, partial results showed. Opposition leader Peter Dutton’s conservative Liberal-National coalition had just 38 seats, and other parties 12. Another 17 seats were still in doubt. “We will be a disciplined, orderly