Speech on Shine

Did President Obama's speech change the direction of the health care reform debate?

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For a stunning moment, it seemed Rep. Joe Wilson (R-South Carolina) thought he was back at an August town hall meeting and not at a joint session of Congress, listening to the president of the United States eloquently call for replacing "acrimony with civility, and gridlock with progress" in the national debate over health care reform.

Shouting out "You lie!" to the president during a speech is not, um, typical protocol, and it says a lot about how our Twitter culture of sending out short snippets of opinion whenever we feel the urge has erupted even in the places once reserved for (at least outward) respect and civility.

Why do some parents oppose President Obama telling kids to take responsibility, study, and get an education?

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After the White House released President Barack Obama’s address to school children, there remain schools that will not air the president’s educational pep talk because of pressure from parents who don’t like the president’s political positions.

Even if you are aghast at the vitriol spilling at public meetings about health care reform proposals, you can understand that many people are worried about what changes to our current health care system will mean for those currently insured as we attempt to insure the 46 million Americans who have no coverage. But to oppose an address by the president to students about taking their studies seriously at the start of a school year--why? At best, it’s “silly,” as Education Secretary Arne Duncan put it. At worst, it’s downright frightening, uninformed, and terribly, unnecessarily alarmist and disrespectful.

Do more people care about “American Idol” than the president?

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Fox will not air President Obama’s prime time press conference tonight for fear that it might run long and cut into the 9:00 P.M. “American Idol” results show. Bear in mind, this is not the performance night, but the following evening where you waste a half hour of your life finding out who is…