Obama: There's no longer time for excuses for black men

[R B Garr]

22. Good post. I think this falls under his meme of "We have more work to do"

That seems to be a consistent point he makes to all audiences, and I think he was just trying to continue that sentiment. But I can see your point about the personal admonishments to the black community. He and Michelle both take on a parental tone in many of their speeches, and it seems they are well received. They come across as supportive parents who have been in someone elses shoes and know what they're talking about, especially for the black community. I like it when they remind people that they both had student loans to achieve their goals because they were not members of the lucky sperm club.

I got a real kick out of some of his comments when he addressed the group like any other group of people -- comparing the types of students from the over-achievers in the summa cum laude group and the slackers in the "thank you cum laude" group. That last bit just cracked me up because I've known of plenty of people in the "thank you cum laude" group that were thrilled just to graduate, period. He mixes plenty of humor in to soften his points, IMHO.