Laura Bush Praises Obama, Defends Back-To-School Speech (VIDEO)

(AP) WASHINGTON Former first lady Laura Bush on Monday expressed support for President Barack Obama's decision to speak to the nation's school children, saying it is "really important for everyone to respect the president of the United States."

In an interview with CNN, Mrs. Bush, a former school teacher, said, "There's a place for the president of the United States to talk to school children and encourage school children" to stay in school. And she said parents and others also need to send that message.

Obama's planned remarks Tuesday to be broadcast by C-SPAN to many schools across the country has drawn protests from conservatives and some parents who said the president is trying to indoctrinate the nation's children. Some parents have said they plan to keep their children home from school because of the Obama speech.

"That's their right," Mrs. Bush said. "That certainly is the right of parents to choose what they want their children to hear in school."

"I also think it's also really important for everyone to respect the president of the United States," she said.

Obama in his speech will urge students to stay in school.

"What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country," Obama will tell the students, according to a transcript released Monday by the White House. "What you're learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future."

Mrs. Bush also decried the extreme political partisanship in the nation.

"We're polarized. ... A lot of people on the right, a lot of people on the left. We've seen that for the last eight years. ... We're still seeing it," she said.

Mrs. Bush praised Obama's performance under difficult circumstances. "He's tackled a lot to start with and that's made it difficult," she said.

She said her husband has refused to criticized Obama because he believes the new president "deserves the respect and no second guessing on the part of a former president."

Still, she said Vice President Dick Cheney, who has been sharply critical of Obama, "has every right to speak out. ... It's certainly Vice President Cheney's right to say whatever he wants to say."

Mrs. Bush was interviewed in Paris, where she was helping promote global literacy as part of a United Nations meeting.

Comments

[Hannah Tahoma]

10:16 PM on 09/17/2009

After hearing Obama’s speech, I definitely think it was beneficial. Regardless of one’s political stance, the content of Obama’s speech was a message that needs to be heard by students throughout the United States. His speech was an encouragement to students of all ages and hopefully helped instill the importance of hard work and focus in school. I do find the criticism of the President’s plan to address schools to be slightly ridiculous. As Mrs. Bush conveyed, yes parents had every right to choose for their children to not watch the speech. However, the rumors spread about Obama’s speech as a method to ‘brainwash’ were unnecessary and completely unfounded. And in fact, those that were advocates of this now look foolish and have in turn, harmed their political causes more than gained respect. Whether or not you support Obama, his speech to students was a positive thing that could really impact students to take responsibilities for their education.

[bqueen9bee]

11:56 AM on 09/12/2009

I am an educator and have nothing but praise for President Obama's central message which is the fact that every individual is responsible for their own education. His other points about school not always being "fun" is also important in a society that is diminishing in morals and values due to such erroneous concepts as instant gratification. The general premise that Americans are well educated is unfounded based on findings on literacy levels of Americans. According to the U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, the National Center for Education Statistics, and the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy in 2003, 25% of those surveyed in New York County lack basic prose literacy skills. The results of literacy levels of children in America in comparison to other countries is even more sobering, “Despite our investments in education we appear to be living off our previous educational investments. "... the average scores of our older adults who rank in the top 5 among comparative countries disappears among the youngest cohorts who rank 14th out of 17 countries”. ( Irwin S. Kirsch, Educational Testing Service, 2004). According to Rauh, Parker, Garfinkle and Perry (2003), “… there are communities in New York City in which 68–74% of elementary school children are reading below grade level, compared with 46% city-wide"(Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York, 1997, p. 256). The circumstances, prove that currently, the message that students are responsible for their own education cannot be emphasized enough.

[Mildmannered]

12:26 AM on 09/11/2009

Unfortunately, 100,000 teachers have been laid off the past year, Mr. President. A second federal stimulus package is needed.

[FloridaLady131722]

03:27 PM on 09/09/2009

Be careful Laura, these ignorant people will start throwing rocks at you.

[ThePantaloon]

12:52 PM on 09/09/2009

We found the woman who started the protests against Obama's speech. Check her out here:

http://www.thepantaloon.com/

[cutesky]

09:28 PM on 09/08/2009

I think it's the first time in over 8 years that Laura has heard the President of the United States make any sense and speak in an educated and exciting fashion. She must be very proud.

[deneufeldt]

09:14 PM on 09/08/2009

She understands the importance of the office of the President. President Obama did a good thing by speaking to the children today. To make it seem like anything else is shameful.

[darter22]

07:24 PM on 09/08/2009

Laura Bush is a first class lady. The only thing GWB ever did right was marry her.

[ImissBush]

06:14 PM on 09/08/2009

there goes her fox special

[ThinkCreeps]

06:12 PM on 09/08/2009

What has happened to the first pan stick? Laura Bush - behind the mask

[trblmkr]

06:00 PM on 09/08/2009

My town’s(Montville, NJ, a deeply red enclave in blue NJ) school district was unable to present our President’s speech in ANY of our schools today. The lame excuse provided by the Superintendent , Dr. Gary R. Bowen, was:
“On this first day of school the children will be quite excited to converse and socialize with their friends during this noontime period and to divert their attention or reschedule operations would obviously be difficult if not counterproductive.”

Shameful, absolutely shameful

[Dugwood]

05:51 PM on 09/08/2009

Clearly the Bush's raise their IQ by marriage, but even so I am very suspicious of anything the Bush clan likes. What have you done to curry favor from the Bush clan, Mr. Obama? It can't be any more good for the people than what the Bushs did to us themselves.

[ramsha]

05:42 PM on 09/08/2009

A special speech for the children of parents who wanted their children abstain from our Presidents speech.

" Stay in bed late and miss your classes whenever you feel like it. Disrupt your classes like your parents did when they attended the ‘Town Hall’ meetings. Screaming is welcome in all meetings. That is the proud American way. Skip 'Home work'. Do not practice your prescribed activities in school. It is not cool. It is not your responsibility, to get a good education. You can have a good life without a good education because you would not know the difference anyway. You will be a fodder for some of our elected officials, who will like it that way. It will be easier for them to confuse you like they did about “pulling the plug on Grandma”. Think for yourself and your leaders will love you.College education is not necessary. Your parents have done well with their grade school education. They know more than “Ivy League” educated leaders. Hate people who are different. Boys be macho and always carry a gun or switchblade with you. Violence is a sign of virility. Girls show and sell your ware and try to be promiscuous. Brain activity among girls is to be frowned upon. Drugs, alcohol and food in excess are to be savored and that is also the American way. Let your country down and your parents will forever be thankful to you” and blame it on the liberals or conservatives.

[MacQ]

04:33 PM on 09/08/2009

BY all accounts the president's speech was a good one. Other presidents have done the same, but this president's words could carry more weight, hopefully, with kids who really need to hear it, because he's not an old gray haired fogey guy.
I applaud the speech. It's too bad his education minions tainted the effort with their curriculum (which was the real objection of conservatives).
I try my best to applaud when the man does things I admire or agree with. I try to be different than those on the other side--I criticise him alot, but I have never called him a name or denigrated him personally. I heard too much of that from the other side for the last 8 years, and it's not an admirable thing.
I would be thrilled to have President Obama serve another term if there were a strong conservative congress in place.
(I must admit it's more fun being in the opposition though--many here haven't awakened to the fact that they really aren't the opposition anymore, and are still republican bashing)

[Mayoyo]

04:32 PM on 09/08/2009

that woman like her husband wasted 8 yrs in the White House....now like Cheney she can't stop talking.