BOSTON -- It was truly a week about speeches.

On Tuesday, President Obama addressed the nation's students. (Or at least those allowed to hear him.) The next day, in a hugely-anticipated appearance before a joint session of Congress, he gave another speech on his plans for reforming America's healthcare system.

But who knew the two speeches were given to the wrong audience?

Obama's speech to students, delivered live in the auditorium of Arlington, Virginia's Wakefield High School, drew critical reaction even before he said a word. His speech to Congress drew critical reaction even as he spoke. Proving, alas, that the audiences should have been reversed.

In addressing the nation's students on the day that many returned to school for the fall, Obama stressed the importance of studying hard, staying in school, and personal responsibility. Hardly radical stuff.

But that didn't keep some on the right from decrying what they saw as an attempt by a liberal president to spread his socialist propaganda to the nation's young, unwitting, and most vulnerable to suggestion.

Chris Stigall, a Kansas City talk show host told the New York Times, "I wouldn't let my next-door neighbor talk to my kid alone." (Even if your next-door neighbor was the President of the United States?)

The hope here is that students -- at least those who saw, heard or read the speech -- do indeed take the suggestion to study and stake out a dream to work toward. What they didn't hear suggested, unless subliminal code was involved, was to fall in line, go home and make a shrine to Obama, and join in a cult of personality for the president.

As it happened, I was at the Groton-Dunstable Middle School in Groton, Mass., the day of Obama's school speech. The school, like many others across the country, had decided to tape the speech and (presumably) play it back to students later.

Can't be too careful, you know.

That night, I watched it online with my own two young daughters. No need for those conservative critics to have worried. One daughter nodded off, the other stared blankly, then asked, "Where's Sasha and Malia?"

If Obama wants more of a cult of personality -- at least with my two voters-of-the- future -- he's going to have to go lighter on the homework and a lot heavier on the Hannah Montana.

If I'm a kid? Borrr-ing.

Obama's speech the next night, though, had high drama indeed.

Addressing a live, prime-time joint session of Congress, it was billed as Obama's last chance to jump in and take control of his recently faltering healthcare reform efforts. It was, by most accounts, a good solid speech that certainly rallied many in the president's own party, if not extending enough concessions to those contrary but still-communicative moderate (see, "Dinosaur, political") Republicans.

It was how the far-less moderate Republicans chose to act during Obama's speech that . Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) used the dramatic and storied setting of a joint session to sit and finger his Blackberry like a kid waiting for the bus. Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) seemed to be having trouble with his lozenge. Or maybe it was gum, hard to say. It, too, seemed an image in casual contrast with the formal setting.

As did the several other Republicans who booed, harrumphed, and held up handmade signs which made them look oddly like really bummed-out bidders at a really over-dressed auction.

But for boys-behaving-badly, nothing compares (in our history, as it turns out) with the outburst of Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) who responded to an Obama statement about coverage and illegal immigrants by yelling out, "You lie!" ( Watch it here .)

Nevermind that, as it turns out, Wilson was lying about Obama lying.

It was an act of appalling childishness: "I want to do this, even though it's wrong to do this, so I am going to do this, because I want to do this."

Imagine if a young student, there as a guest, had yelled out what Wilson did. If it was my child, the range of punishments might bump up against the Geneva Conventions.

In Wilson's case, it resulted in a tepid apology, and a bizarre plea for campaign contributions.

All of which proves that Obama gave the wrong speech to the wrong audience.

The high school students in Arlington, Virginia listened with far more respect and intelligence than their supposed leaders in the Capitol. Would that they were able to act for us on healthcare reform.

Because some of their leaders in Washington showed they deserve to be talked to like kids who need to be reminded about growing up right, and learning well.

And some of them also need a major time-out.