Bill Cosby's overly-earnest public speaking career has him aiming for a South Park send-up. His latest potentially controversial outing came Saturday at Los Angeles' Maranatha Community Church.

Cosby's address at a forum entitled "Education is a Civil Right" took on black parents and educators for not setting goals for children or being able to answer their questions about why education is important. Saturday's speech offered none of Cosby's past, more inflammatory criticisms of young African-Americans for squandering the progress made by the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.

Has television's ideal dad aged into an unfunny curmudgeon, a much-needed public intellectual or just another self-important celebrity?