This just in: politicians are phony hypocrites…you know, generally speaking (insert smiley face). And in related news, water is wet. Thank you, goodnight.

Ok, ok, due to the request of my readers (I like to pretend that I have readers who request things), I shall expound on my above statements with an example. Take Arlen Specter. Though a long time Republican Senator from Pennsylvania, he recently switched parties in an attempt to avoid getting booted out of office in the upcoming mid-term elections. Upon his switch, Republicans promptly bid him good riddance, and the Democrats welcomed him home as if he was their prodigal son. Also, if you remember, George Bush campaigned for Specter during his Presidency, and I have a sneaky suspicion that Barack will do the same for him when 2010 gets here. The moral of the story is that, as always, no one gives a flying hoot on Capitol Hill if you truly stand for what you claim, or even if you get around to claiming to stand for anything at all…what’s important is whether or not you have an R or a D in front of your name. Power to the party! Just like our forefathers wanted.

No, but unfortunately, that’s what it has become. I shall expound further. Lawmakers today practice politics sans principle. It’s about power, influence, and taking care of one’s own…cronyism over code. Of course, I realize that me telling you all this is roughly as revealing as finding out that Barry Bonds was juicing, but it’s disheartening nonetheless. What is even more disheartening, though, is how much of this same attitude has seeped into the mindset of the everyday voter. Case in point: the ongoing reaction to President Obama’s back-to-school speech yesterday.

Disclaimer: in the ensuing paragraphs, I aim to say something positive about Barack Obama. If this is too much for you to handle, please rest in the fact that I would still rate his Presidency thus far as just south of epic disaster.

Leading up to Obama’s appeal to the school children, I was skeptical about his objective going in and concerned about a potential indoctrination attempt. Therefore, I felt all the hullabaloo from the right prior to the speech was warranted. However, after some changes were made to the verbiage of the speech as well as the mandated follow up school assignments eliminated, I decided to take it at face value…and after doing so, I was actually quite pleased. It was a simple message about hard work and responsibility, and one that, quite frankly, many of these kids aren’t getting from their parents. Now, I still can’t vouch for the purity of Obama’s motives for giving the talk, as it may have meant nothing more to him than a way to shift the focus from a healthcare debate he’s losing as well as level out his sinking poll numbers. However, who’s motives in Washington can I vouch for anymore, and is that what really is significant in this situation anyway? Philippians 1:18 says, “But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice.” Obviously, this isn’t a scenario where Christ was preached, but I believe that we should view it in a similar manner. Kids across the country were asked by the most powerful man in the world to work hard, to stay in school, and to lead responsible lives. Whether there was sinister political subtext behind his plea or not, it was a sound plea. In fact, I would argue that it was even a rather conservative one.

So why are so many on the right still crying the blues over it? Again, I expect party before principle elected Republicans to continue lambasting it, and I understood and applauded the level of scrutiny it received beforehand. After all, it is our job as parents to be vigilant about who and what our children are hearing at school. After listening to Obama’s words, though, I wonder…what exactly is the problem now? They weren’t political in nature, and besides, in this instance we can safely ignore the political context as it is fundamentally irrelevant…that is unless someone snuck a referendum to lower the voting age to 4 into the stimulus bill. Look, I’ll admit…I was as ready as the next guy to tear the speech apart limb from limb and dub it as yet another attempt by the President to undermine the very fabric of our fragile Republic. However, I had to ask myself this. Would I have been equally upset if George Bush had given the same talk, or would I have simply celebrated it from the get-go without even considering for a moment that political implications may be present? I knew the answer instantly. That is why, though they were being taught by a man with whom I rarely see eye to eye, I chose to cheer on the valuable lessons I heard yesterday. Right is right and worthy to be acknowledged regardless from whom it is uttered, and so I ask you…are you following people or principles? I pose this question because, as we’ve already discussed, Washington operates often times devoid of all principles, and therefore more than ever, it desperately needs the influence of a great many principled Americans.

Of course, that being said…I think once we principled Americans are done clapping for Obama’s back-to-school address, we need to ask him why he promotes, through inspiring speeches, hard work and achievement to school children while simultaneously endeavoring to punish, through socialistic policies, their hard working, achieving parents? Because that seems…you know, phony and hypocritical. Then again, water is wet.