President Obama Promotes Fatherhood, Responsibility

Pres. Barack Obama is publishing this father's day message:

In many ways, I came to understand the importance of fatherhood through its absence—both in my life and in the lives of others. I came to understand that the hole a man leaves when he abandons his responsibility to his children is one that no government can fill. We can do everything possible to provide good jobs and good schools and safe streets for our kids, but it will never be enough to fully make up the difference.

That is why we need fathers to step up, to realize that their job does not end at conception; that what makes you a man is not the ability to have a child but the courage to raise one.

ABC News adds this comment:

In a provocative speech last year in Chicago, Obama delivered some tough love to the African-American community on how absent fathers have contributed to the breakdown of the black family.

"Too many fathers are MIA," he said. "Too many fathers are AWOL. Missing from too many lives and too many homes. They've abandoned their responsibilities. They're acting like boys instead of men. You and I know this is true everywhere, but nowhere is it more true than in the African-American community."

It is nice to hear the President speak up for fathers, but there is a long list of govt policies and incentives that prevent fathers from stepping up. I am a father, and my ex-wife is being paid $3000 per month to not let me see my kids. Now that Obama is the President, he is in a position to do something about fatherlessness in the USA.