President Barack Obama gave the commencement speech at Arizona State University last Tuesday.  The new chief executive called upon the new graduates to  " . . .question conventional wisdom and rethink the old dogmas. A lack of regard for all the traditional markers of status and prestige - and a commitment instead to doing what is meaningful to you, what helps others, what makes a difference in this world."

The president does not believe the ASU graduates should seek personal gain in their future careers.  Why did they go to that fine instution in the first place?   I am sure if you asked those graduates: "Was your primary goal in seeking higher education at ASU helping others make a difference in the world?"  "No, dummy, it was to earn a living!"

Mr. Obama does not like it when people earn a lot of money so they can be happy in their lives.  Even though our president has earned millions with his book sales and has made a decent living for him and his family, he almost scholds the graduates for doing the same:  "Many of you have been taught to chase after the usual brass rings: being on this "who's who" list or that top 100 list; how much money you make and how big your corner office is; whether you have a fancy enough title or a nice enough car."

How about that nice title of "President of the United States?"

And, how about those nice clothes the first lady wears?

On Saturday, Michelle Obama also gave an commencement address.  Her speech was at the Univerisity of California at Merced. She echoed the socailst philosophy of her husband, quoting Marian Wright Edelman: "Service is the rent we pay for living...it is the true measure, the only measure of our success."  She went on to say: "Now, let me tell you, careers focused on lifting up our communities -- whether it's helping transform troubled schools or creating after-school programs or training workers for green jobs -- these careers are not always obvious, but today they are necessary."  

Again, go to school for someone else. That is nice, but if I am not going to make that much money, how the hell am I going to pay off my student loans?

The First Lady revealed one of the underlying tennets of the Obama administration in the following sentence: "Solutions to our nation's most challenging social problems are not going to come from Washington alone."   There is no no question that our president believes that most (if not all) of the solutions should come from Washington, and he is the messiah to deliver them.

I am hoping that most of  graduates are not going to take the first family's advice. They should pursue their dreams, that includes making as much money as they want to.  Do not be afraid of competition.  Be the best you can be.  That will help society more that 'working and living for someone else.'