WP, E.J. Dionne: Raising Hopes; Obama's Father's Day call for responsible parenting

Raising Hopes
By E.J. Dionne Jr.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Will everyone dismiss Barack Obama's Father's Day call to responsible parenting as a simple political ploy? After all, the man who would be our first African-American president is struggling for support from white working-class voters, many of whom have traditional views of family life and some of whom harbor deep suspicions about black men. What could be more reassuring to them than his flat statement that "too many fathers ... have abandoned their responsibilities, acting like boys instead of men"?

"You and I know how true this is in the African-American community," Obama said, speaking at a Chicago church more theologically conservative than the Trinity United Church of Christ he recently left. "We know that more than half of all black children live in single-parent households, a number that has doubled -- doubled -- since we were children."

For a campaign that wants to fight Republican claims that Obama is a down-the-line liberal, here is a theme he has been talking about for a long time that simply doesn't fit into anyone's parody of liberalism. Yes, his speech spoke of what government could do to meet responsible fathers "halfway." But Obama's emphasis was not on programs but on the personal responsibility of fathers to "be there for their children, and set high expectations for them, and instill in them a sense of excellence and empathy."...

...(I)t would be unfortunate if Obama's words were read only as an attempt to win white votes. It actually matters that a presidential candidate is taking the costs of fatherlessness seriously.

Every social problem is made much, much worse by the abandonment of children by their fathers. Yes, social justice depends upon what government does. Yes, government should do far more to relieve the burdens on those who struggle economically and work hard for little pay. And, yes, racism is a damaging reality that explains many of the problems faced by African-Americans -- including family breakdown itself. But government simply cannot replace absent fathers. Government cannot do all the things that parents ought to do. The reason Obama's speech is important beyond all of the short-term political calculations and analysis is that it reflects a hard-won consensus that family structure matters....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/16/AR2008061602088.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

I got called a racist "with Klan-like opinions" on this forum for daring to point out Bill Cosby's leadership on this issue. Incredibly, I was actually lectured that to bring this up was ANTI-FEMINIST because it implied that women couldn't do just as good a job alone.

I consider myself fully and resoundingly vindicated. What a difference a nomination makes. Thanks Obama!

...and although I do believe women can do a good job on their own, my sister raised her daughter even though she was not married (she divorced when her daughter was 5). But I also don't believe anything takes the place of a husband and wife together. A child needs the influence of a father, no matter how good the mother is.

is the cause for fatherless children. Women should be made aware also. Many thinks it's okay to raise children w/o fathers. Birth control is readily available, but the welfare system encourages young single women to have children because they are guaranteed housing and welfare. A terrible reality that no one wants to admit. I think Clinton tried to address this problem but was hampered by a storm of criticism by misguided "children" advocates.

Obama, you are missing me.

Obama's "Father's Day" call to personal Responsibility was/is on point; however, it is a message that everyone needs to hear. Why does he opt to address predominately non-Black audiences with "I will do this, that and the other for you" or "Together we can do this, that and the other", but on the rare occasions where he speaks to predominately African-American audiences, his message shifts to lecturingly "While the government can and should do this, that and the other, You all need to do ..."? It's almost like he's promoting the false notation that the African-American community has a lock on familial dysfunction. His addresses to African-American audiences are insulting to the millions of Black families that live and are teaching our progeny - through word and example - the personal responsibility lifestyle.

That said, I will vote for Obama in the fall.

There was considerable discussion here at DU on this point on Sunday when news of the speech was first reported.