Someone will have to explain this one to me.

The president of the United States is going to speak to the nation’s schoolchildren today about the importance of working hard, staying in school and taking responsibility for their futures.

And, at least to some people, this is a bad thing.

There are a lot of people who don’t think President Obama’s message to schoolkids is a good idea, and don’t necessarily want their kids exposed to what they see as some kind of an agenda on the part of the White House.

Apparently, some people simply can’t see past the politics that is obviously involved in such an event.

They don’t care about the message. They don’t like the messenger. Or his politics. And they see this as some kind of nefarious way of pushing his partisan position on our kids.

I am not making this up. This is where we stand today. This is where our poisoned political atmosphere has landed. We don’t respect the office of the president of the United States enough to allow the commander-in-chief, a man who a year or two from now might be sending some of these kids into harm’s way, to offer a message on the value of hard work.

After all, we wouldn’t want to give him even the slightest political edge. So much for honoring the office.

George W. Bush once delivered a similar message. So did Ronald Reagan.
No one, at least that I remember, accused them of pushing their ideology on America’s schoolkids.

To be honest, I don’t think liberals and Democrats should complain too loudly. I find it hard to believe that the second President Bush could do much of anything without them finding fault with it, or without someone trying to make fun of it. No doubt some liberal-leaning news outlets and the late-night TV shows would go over the speech with a fine-tooth comb for any small element that they could poke fun of, the honor of the office be damned.

Forget the office. Or having respect for the man who holds it. This is politics. Hardball, as they say. It’s a contact sport. It’s spinning every story to use it to your advantage.

The president speaks to schoolkids about working hard and mapping out a plan to a successful future.

Nah, kids today don’t need to hear that message. Especially not from a guy who could be a particular role model for so many of them, the first African-American to hold the office of president.

But certainly not the first to be caught in a political cross-fire.

Call this one the latest lesson from the School of Hard Knocks.