Given the recent controversy over Obama's address to school children Tuesday, I was interested to see the speech released on the White House web site. While not all schools will be showing the speech, it is still likely to have a huge audience of many students across the nation. I looked to see which companies might benefit from this exposure.
Overall, Obama encourages kids to study hard, be responsible and overcome the many obstacles they face, while relating his own difficulties from school.
Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) gets a positive mention as an example of the kind of company to strive to build.
The iPhone also makes it into the speech, to the benefit of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL).
J. K. Rowling -- author of the Harry Potter series -- gets included, a plus for her publisher, Scholastic Corp. (NASDAQ: SCHL), and Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), which has released the movies based on the books.
Obama discourages kids from playing on the Xbox, which is bad news for Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). I somehow doubt Xboxes are going to become less popular just because the President encouraged kids to study instead. But since an educated and competitive workforce is vital to our economic future, hopefully he can inspire students to study harder.
Not surprisingly, Obama encourages kids to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment, while making no mention of becoming oil drill workers or banking executives. Given political and economic considerations, I can understand why those careers may not have been mentioned -- although more talent may be needed in those areas as well.
Kevin Kersten is a stock options analyst and financial writer.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-08-2009 @ 9:43AM
polebarns1 said...
OBAMA IS A SHUCK AND JIVE ARTIST AND AN EXTREME LEFTIST. I DON'T WANT HIM TALKING TO MY KIDS....JUST LIKE I DON'T WANT THEM TALKING TO A DRUG DEALER..AND I DON'T CARE WHAT COLOR THE SCUMBAG IS. A SCUMBAG IS A SCUMBAG !!!
9-08-2009 @ 9:54AM
Warren said...
http://www.whitehouse.gov/MediaResources/PreparedSchoolRemarks/
I know you won't read that, polebarns1, but there is nothing in that speech that any reasonable person could object to. It's a beautiful speech and exactly what children should be hearing. Not the hate speech they're being subjected to at the dinner table.
9-08-2009 @ 10:44AM
Beltway Greg said...
Get over it. Guess what, America worked. Obama has inherited a disaster and has gone about trying to fix this mess for our children. The Washington way would be for him to have put health care reform and other controversial issues on the back burner and in general keep a low profile on any issue that didn't immediately increase equity in the political capital fund. What did he do? Much to the consternation of his advisors he has soldiered forward.
It's easy to be a populist. All you have to do is check which groups lobby the most and you'll identify exactly where you'll receive the greatest push back and media buys to create doubt about your intentions.
And let me ask you one other thing oh great keepers of the Republican flame. As a registered independent who voted for Ronald Reagan (1980, not 1984) and George H. W. Bush do you believe that either of those two men would've allowed Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck to become the spokesmen for the party? The republican leadership has evaporated. Michael Steele? J.C. Watts but surely not Michael Steele.
9-08-2009 @ 12:39PM
Bernie Cramer said...
It would be so nice if other people would look out for the kids and advise them accordingly. It is very humbling for a president to take the time out to talk to children. It will do more good to focus on the kids. Promote love, peace and all that's good, it's needed in the world today. The children will also be creative and stimulate their way of thinking. Remember you're all americans.
9-08-2009 @ 1:17PM
Tonia said...
I read the speech and while many good things are in it he is still slipping his agenda and personal beliefs into it along with these mentions of products and companies.
Government should not be telling our kids to stay in school, WE should.
9-08-2009 @ 1:35PM
Domenic Sgambellone said...
As long as Obama sticks to education, I have no problem. A good advise is welcome from anyone regardless of race or color of the skin. I just wish Obama would govern the same way and remember that he is everyone's president and not just some minorities.
9-08-2009 @ 1:38PM
sandileveq said...
This speech is along the same lines that my grandmother has preached to me. She was no socialist or jive artist etc. She was the backbone of this country and gave out the best advice in the world. Since some folks are not old enough to really understand right from wrong, take the Obama speech, read in to your grandparents (without telling them before hand who wrote or spoke the words). See what they think of the message. If they say its a good one then wonder why its being withheld from some of the children. You are not as smart as your grandparents yet and perhaps some folks need to listen to the words in the speech and take themselves back to school for some higher education.
9-08-2009 @ 1:43PM
thedude said...
Let's see here
Obama touts Google - a company that has a horrific record of honoring thier users right to privacy
Obama touts Apple - a company who outsorces all their manfucaturing to the communistic country of China, a country that coincidentally Obama has borrowed more than $1 trillion from since taking office
JK Rowling I don't have a problem with other than the fact that Obama couldn't pick an American writer to emulate.
Time Warner ? - the totalitarian cable company that does everything in it's power to block competition No Thank You Obama
I agree that kids should spend less time with video games but specifically targeting a particular platform in his speech smacks of suspicion. What about the Wii or the Playstation ? Maybe because Google pays him more money ?
and @ beltwaygreg- you neglect to mention who Obama inherited the mess from, is it the after effects of 9-11 which would never have happened if Clinton was paying attention to something other than Monica Lewinski (the first World Trade Center bombing happened under Clintons reign), is it the mortgage meltdown which occured due to Clintons easing of mortgage requirements while trying to make Hillary's whitewater actions appear legal) is it due to the post Katrina effect where Bush's only real failure was to not rewrite FEMA regs createed by his predecessor (who was that ? oh yeah begins with C..) is it the continued decline fo the auto industry which was exacerbated by something called NAFTA enacted by someone named Clinton ?
The democrat party member Bill Clinton set in motion policies that brought America to it's knees, and the only real failing of the Bush administration was to not point this out - they could have, it would have been easy to do, but unlike Democrats and Clintons, Bush actually took the high road
Unfortunately Obama is following in CLintons footsteps selling the USA to China as fast as unconstitutionally possible.
As for Limbaugh and the rest of the talking heads I wish they would just die, they are only making a bad situation worse and no one needs that kind of negativity.
9-08-2009 @ 2:00PM
Beltway Greg said...
With the tax system we had under Clinton our debt would've been satisfied by 2015. George W. Bush a conservative doubled our debt during his term from 5 trillion to 10 trillion. And Clinton came the closest to getting bin Laden than anybody. If you remember he was
pilloried by the republicans for his actions and of course he left that little memo for Condi and the gang, "bin Laden determined to strike inside the United States." They didn't take it too seriously. Whitewater? Please, you can return the DVDs you bought on late night television. Easing of mortgage requirements? You meant easing of capital requirements/leverage under Bush.
Besides, the dow and the S&P under eight years of Clinton? Up 200+ percent. It has even gone up under Obama as of this writing. Bush?
I'll gladly take 8 more years of Clinton and he can do what he wants with Monica. It's really not my business.
It's not as if he outed a CIA agent who worked without cover. The Valerie Plame incident was the most egregious violation of American trust in decades, far worse than Watergate, however, this time America lacked the attention span to follow the story.
9-08-2009 @ 2:26PM
Beltway Greg said...
And one more thing.....if the new/refreshed IPod/Itouch is released on time with the camera I think, that, coupled with the strange and supernatural silence in regard to the flaming pods/phones ought to just about finish the credibility of the financial press. Heck, for the most part, you dudes even missed Steve's illness. He was lying supine probably face down on a operating table and he still managed to kick your butts. Better luck next time, we understand the animosity.