by Barack Obama to black men: "Fatherhood doesn’t end at conception."
Right on. If Obama is to deliver on his promise of positive change, that’s perhaps the area in which he can do the most good.
More:
“Too many fathers are M.I.A, too many fathers are AWOL, missing from too many lives and too many homes,” Mr. Obama said, to a chorus of approving murmurs from the audience. “They have abandoned their responsibilities, acting like boys instead of men. And the foundations of our families are weaker because of it.”
…
“But we also need families to raise our children,” he said. “We need fathers to realize that responsibility doesn’t just end at conception. That doesn’t just make you a father. What makes you a man is not the ability to have a child. Any fool can have a child. That doesn’t make you a father. It’s the courage to raise a child that makes you a father.”
This is a great, much-needed message – I hope it’s received.
The Times writer gets something else right too:
Mr. Obama laid out his case in stark terms that would be difficult for a white candidate to make
Indeed. I loathe Mr. Obama’s liberal agenda. Loathe it. However, if he’s to be our next president – and I think he will be – some good may come of the resulting national ordeal if he’s able to change the culture of young black males in America.
