The speech from a high school in Arlington, Va., scheduled to be delivered at noon EDT, will be shown on the White House Web site and on C-SPAN.
Presidents George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan gave similar addresses, and both attracted a bit of controversy. But the reaction to Obama's planned speech has been heightened by the political fight over health care and economic issues and a furious effort by conservatives to organize opposition.
When plans for the speech were first announced, they included a "menu of classroom activities" from the Department of Education that suggested schoolchildren write about "how they could help the president." In a statement, Florida GOP chairman Jim Greer said he was "absolutely appalled that taxpayer dollars are being used to spread President Obama's socialist ideology." Greer could not be reached for comment Monday after the text of the addresses became public.
