For the record I'm okay with President Obama (or any U.S. President) speaking to children in public schools about the importance of education, as long as it is possible for children (and their families) to opt out.  I think it can be inspirational, educational, and discussion provoking for children to have a President speak to them, and I look forward to talking with my children about their thoughts on it.  After all, this is the leader of our nation, and it is probably good to teach children to pay attention to what the President says, whether we agree with the individual holding the office or not.  For some children it might actually introduce and create an interest in politics beyond the common American adult model of simply listening to talk-radio and watching sound-bite entertainment news reports (imagine that).  

However, as we all know there really is very little difference between the Republicans and Democrats.  A guaranteed consistency is that each will always blame, accuse, and deried the opposing party for acting exactly as they would if the shoe was on the other foot.  This was true for the bail-out and it is true on this school speech issue.  Here's an excerpt from a Washington Post article back in 1991 when the first President Bush wanted to broadcast a speech to schools (it could almost be run today, just replace the names of Democratic players with Republican ones):

House Democrats criticized President Bush yesterday for using Education Department funds to produce and broadcast a speech that he made Tuesday at a Northwest Washington junior high school.

The Democratic critics accused Bush of turning government money for education to his own political use, namely, an ongoing effort to inoculate himself against their charges of inattention to domestic issues. The speech at Alice Deal Junior High School, broadcast live on radio and television, urged students to study hard, avoid drugs and turn in troublemakers.

“The Department of Education should not be producing paid political advertising for the president, it should be helping us to produce smarter students,” House Majority Leader Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.) said. “And the president should be doing more about education than saying, ‘Lights, camera, action.’ ”

Two House committees demanded that the department explain the use of its funds for the speech, an explanation that Deputy Secretary David T. Kearns provided late in the day in a letter to Rep. William D. Ford (D-Mich.), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. Education Secretary Lamar Alexander was out of town.  [...]

Rep. Patricia Schroeder (D-Colo.), chairwoman of the Select Committee on Children, Youth and Families, said it was outrageous for the White House to “start using precious dollars for campaigns” when “we are struggling for every silly dime we can get” for education programs.

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