Obama to fathers: Don't be like my absent dad

Associated Press ^ | June 19, 2009 | BEN FELLER

[Free ThinkerNY]

WASHINGTON (AP) - Growing up without a father left a hole in his heart, President Barack Obama told boys at the White House Friday in a remarkably personal Father's Day weekend message. He implored fathers everywhere—and the kids when they're older—to be involved in the lives of their own children.

"This isn't an obligation," said the father of two in a message to millions of wayward dads. "This is a privilege to be a father."

Obama spent hours on Friday with teenagers, young men, community mentors and everyday dads in hopes of launching what he called a national conversation on responsible fatherhood. Each story was personal. But one of them commanded the most attention: his own.

[GraceCoolidge]

Danilo Downing, a 16-year-old who just finished his sophomore year at Yorktown High School in Arlington, Va., said the White House visit changed his life. He's never met his father, and connected with the president's comments.

"I think of him as my father now," Downing said after he shook Obama's hand and got a pat on the back. "He's really special to me. He's an amazing man."

Now that is just sad. He shakes his hand and pats a kid on the back, so the kid thinks of him as his father now? Pretty low standard for fatherhood, isn't it? I guess the media wanted to show how magical even the merest contact with Obama can be, but it just struck me as pathetic.

[chiefqc]

Well I’m sure their are Dads who point at him and tell their children as they gather around the diner table, if they can afford to buy food for them while being out of work, don’t grow up be like this him.

[Hilltop]

No he doesn’t.

[JavaJumpy]

“This isn’t an obligation,” said the father of two in a message to millions of wayward dads. “This is a privilege to be a father.”
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May I be the first to suggest this quote get plastered at every womens’ clinic?

[Sioux-san]

or his real father, whoever the heck that was. Only the DNA will prove beyond a doubt. His mom sure did get around.

[Victoria Delsoul]

Since his favorite subject is talking about himself, how about saying, “Don’t be a pompous daddy like me.”

[A_Former_Democrat]

Which one? Barack, Sr? Frank? or Malcolm?

[Lizavetta]

Growing up without a father left a hole in his heart,

Say what you will about Zero, but I believe this 100 percent.

To have a dad who chose to cavort off into the universe and leave you must be devastating. Think about it, folks.

[Othniel]

I pity him too. He seems to be directionless, rudderless, and totally lacking in the kind of sense of settled that men need.

That being said, *real* dads know how to not spend money.