Now that President Barack Obama's back-to-school speech has been delivered and the reviews are in, opponents to the speech, including school districts who refused to air it, look a little bit silly.

In his speech, Obama urged school students to work hard, stay in school, pay attention to teachers, listen to parents and take responsibility. It was a message that should resonate with conservatives and liberals alike — and it did.

The reviews of the speech were universally positive. Even some people who earlier had expressed concerns about Obama's speech found little not to like in the president's nationally televised 20-minute chat before school students in Alexandria, Virginia.

Former first lady Laura Bush, who has worked as a teacher, spoke up to praise the speech, and the value of having the president of the United States speaking to school students and urging them to work hard and do well in school.

While the nation's attention has most recently been focused on the health care crisis, it is not overstating things to say the United States also faces an education crisis.

American students have fallen behind their counterparts in Europe and Asia on standardized tests and the future prosperity of the United States is threatened by students who lag their peers in other countries — competitors to the U.S. in the global economy.

Improving public education in America is critical, and can even be seen as a national security issue.

Obama spoke to students across the country about "what's expected of all of you this new school year."

By expressing his high expectations for all students, Obama was telling those students facing hardships and low expectations from school administrators, teachers and parents, that he isn't giving up on them. That message mirrors George W. Bush's argument that many students, especially minority students in poor, urban schools, suffer from low expectations.

Obama also talked about his own challenges growing up in a single-parent household and even his admitted slacking off period in high school. Such a personal message is something many students can relate to — and be inspired by.

Obama said that success in school is a team effort and talked about the important roles played by parents and teachers. He also mentioned the value of well-equipped schools and classrooms.

But, ultimately, he stressed the need for students to take responsibility, saying "None of it will matter unless all of you fulfill you responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed."

Is that the message some parents and talk radio shows across the country were worried about? The hubbub that preceeded the speech produced enough heat that some school districts pulled the plug on the president and his message.

In Butler County, officials at Butler, Seneca Valley and Mars districts decided against letting their students hear the speech.

While it will be a relief when nonsense over the speech fades away, many parents must be asking why the administration at Butler, Seneca and Mars did not want their students to hear the president's talk Tuesday morning.

The whole controversy looks silly, as does the overreaction by parents, conservative talk radio and schools.

Opposition in the days and weeks leading up to the speech appears to have been purely political. How much was contrived and how much was legitimate cannot be known. Conservatives opposed to policies advanced by Obama certainly should speak up and make their voices heard. But a strategy of knee-jerk and blanket opposition to anything and everything the president says or does just looks foolish.