This short clip has people stunned around the blogosphere because we’ve heard nothing but excuses from this President. The irony is so thick that you need C4 to ‘cut’ it.
Do as I say. Don’t do as I do:
“That’s my second piece of advice. Very simple, don’t make excuses. Take responsibility not just for your successes, but for your failures as well.
The truth is, no matter how hard you work, you won’t necessarily ace every class or succeed in every job. There will be times when you screw up, when you hurt the people you love, when you stray from your most deeply held values.
And when that happens, it’s the easiest thing in the world to start looking around for someone to blame. Your professor was too hard; your boss was a jerk; the coach was playing favorites; your friend just didn’t understand. We see it every day out in Washington, with folks calling each other names and making all sorts of accusations on TV.
This community could have easily gone down that road. You could have made excuses – our kids have fewer advantages, our schools have fewer resources, so how can we compete? You could have spent years pointing fingers – blaming parents, blaming teachers, blaming the principal or the superintendent or the government.
But instead, you came together. You were honest with yourselves about where you were falling short. And you resolved to do better – to push your kids harder, to open their minds wider, to expose them to all kinds of ideas and people and experiences.
So graduates I hope you’ll continue those efforts. Don’t make excuses…”
I love the girl sleeping in the background – there’s your metaphor of the day.