Obama Delivers School Speech; To Address Congress on Wednesday

By Jared Pliner

WASHINGTON - It is shaping up to be a busy week for President Barack Obama, as he returns from his summer hiatus and goes back to work on healthcare reform. But before his primetime address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, he will speak to nearly 56 million school children across the nation Tuesday, a move that drew fiery controversy from Republicans last week. Some on the right accused the president of attempting to indoctrinate America's schoolchildren (a captive audience) with a partisan message, complete with propagandist undertones. As it turns out, the prepared remarks contain nothing more than the president's encouragement to work hard in school, aim for ones goals, and poignant anecdotes of underprivileged children who beat the odds.

Next on the dossier, the president will address members of the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives in the House chamber on Wednesday evening in a multi-network televised event. All eyes will be on the president as he is expected to vigorously push for reform that includes a public option and rally both Democrats and Republicans to undertake bipartisan efforts to push through legislation in a timely manner. The White House has said that Obama will specifically address the three most pressing questions on reform: how to pay for it, the effect on the mounting deficit and how it will impact health insurance. The president has already pledged not to sign anything that adds to the budget deficit, but many on the right - and even some on the left - are skeptical. Tune in at 8  p.m. Eastern/5  p.m. Pacific.