Video of Youth Radio interns reacting to President Obama's Education Speech.

President Obama addressed America's students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Va., today, encouraging them to set their own goals for their education, and to not let their failures define them. He told them that the country depended on them and that there is "no excuse for not trying." The speech focused on perseverance and on personal responsibility. Last week, the speech became the target of attack when conservative pundits accused Obama of having political motives.

Before the talk, Obama held a televised meeting with a group of ninth graders and answered their questions. Obama talked about his troubled teenage years. He said that he originally thought he would be a professional basketball player. It wasn't until college that he realized he was good at writing and "analyzing how the world worked." One student asked, "If you could have dinner with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?" Obama responded: "I think that it might be Gandhi, who is a real hero of mine. Now, it would probably be a really small meal."