Obama on Fatherhood

It's good to see President Obama speaking out on the issue of fatherhood. I can't tell from the article the context of the remarks or how extensive they were, only that he's made such remarks in the past:

Father's Day 2007: "Let's admit to ourselves that there are a lot of men out there that need to stop acting like boys; who need to realize that responsibility does not end at conception; who need to know that what makes you a man is not the ability to have a child but the courage to raise a child."

Father's Day 2008: "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."

Father's Day 2009: "We need to step out of our own heads and tune in. We need to turn off the television and start talking with our kids, and listening to them, and understanding what's going on in their lives."

The president is in a powerful position to send these important messages. They are especially needed in the black community, where so many kids are born out of wedlock and raised without fathers. I hope he will continue to press this issue after Father's Day has passed and throughout his presidency. Keeping fathers engaged and marriages intact is vital to a wide variety of economic and social issues.