Is this a great Dad or what?

[Zomby Woof]

:D

[Captain Hilts]

1. Let's be honest, he hasn't seen much of his kids these past two years. nt

[ShortnFiery]

4. I beg to differ, he did make every effort to be there for them and/or Michelle would bring them ...

to the places where he was campaigning. The effort was made and his girls seem very well adjusted.

[nini]

6. what's your point?

does this disqualify him as a good dad?

yes, he's been away a lot. I've also read he's made she he talked to them at least every evening for a long as they wanted and before school.

Sometimes it is possible to be a good parent and do what he did too. You can tell it in those kid's eyes when they're with him.

There are plenty of parents in the home with their kids every day that are shitty parents - time isn't the defining factor of what makes a good parent.

[Zomby Woof]

8. That does not diminish his fatherhood

My Dad was a career Navy man who was, with a few exceptions, away at sea 6 months of the year, every year - and he made the time he was home count for us. Quality over quantity wins every time.

There are fathers who are home 365 days a year who are not there for their kids. And then there are those who may not be there in person every day, but they make their presence felt.

No doubt Obama does his best to make that time count because of the absence of his own father, and no doubt he was all too conscious of that during this campaign.

This is a feel-good thread designed to counter all the cabinet-pick transition strife, that's all.

[Captain Hilts]

24. I'm glad you made that comparison. I'm a navy kid too. I know a lot

of guys who got out because they didn't want to miss being with their kids.

Yeah, my dad went to work for six months at a time. It's tough on everybody, though my dad and I became very close later. Like being president, being a sub captain creates tensions and reticences that make getting closer a bit tougher.

Do I think Obama loves his kids and is good with them? Absolutely.

Let's feel good!

[Barack_America]

21. So by your standards, troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan are shitty parents by default?

[expatriate]

25. So what?

Michelle Obama has stated that he stayed in touch every day. So did he. He was there as much as he could be, and it's obvious that the time he does spend with his children is of very good quality.

My father was at home 365 days a year, and I wish he'd been anywhere else. We lived for the rare times he was away. Hell, I wished he was on the goddamn moon, or six feet under from the time I was a little kid. One of the worst days of my life was when he was made a full professor and the time he had to spend at work was cut in half. That meant more time with dear ol' dad at home. Groovy, more beatings, verbal abuse and parental warfare.

Just look at Obama's kids and their facial expressions. They love their dad, they're happy with him. The proof is in the pudding. You should see the looks on our faces in some of the photos in my family album. Joy is not paramount.

It's how loving and involved the dad is, not the number of hours he's around.

[Jackeens]

26. BRILLIANT post - good on you for your honesty.

[gauguin57]

2. Gettin' crazy!

[nini]

14. I love the look on his face in this one

LOL

I used to love those bump cars when I was a kid. I thought I was really driving hahah

[ourbluenation]

3. Is that one of the cutest kids or what?

[Name removed]

5. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[nini]

7. CUTEST FIRST KID EVER!!

:D

[nini]

9. CUTEST FIRST KID EVER!!

:D

[Zomby Woof]

11. It's so true you said it twice!

:D

[nini]

12. Yep

I don't know how that happened - oops


Only at DU can a positive thread like this turn into a flame fest. It boggles the mind.

It's ALL good and I for one am thrilled to have such a loving family as the first family.

I wonder if they like cheetos? :D

[Zomby Woof]

15. Skettiandmeatballs!

:D

This is what I get for refusing to force my opinions about his prospective cabinet members. D'oh!

[nini]

17. Cute kids are much more fun to talk about

especially Sasha and Mikey.


I wonder if they're getting their puppy soon?

[uppityperson]

10. I am very happy to see him playing with his kids. Great he takes time to do this.

He is very busy but takes time for the kids every day. That is a really great thing to do.

[nini]

16. He really is a good examole as a parent

one of the busiest guys in the world and he still take them to school :-)

[TheWraith]

13. What you don't see is the Secret Service bulletproofed the bumper car.

And anyone who goes out of their way to run into them is grabbed and questioned. :D

[uppityperson]

18. I love DU.

a nice topic about Obama parenting turns flamey due to a mispost.

[Zomby Woof]

22. LOL

Truly.

[City Lights]

19. Hard to tell who's having more fun!

Our President-elect is a kid at heart. :loveya:

[DU GrovelBot]

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[Jackeens]

23. READ THIS:

Obama was not given to shows of emotion. But at the last debate he was asked an innocuous question about his New Year's resolution, and he launched into standard-issue boilerplate about being "a better father, better husband. And I want to remind myself constantly that this is not about me, ah, what I'm doing today. It's an enormous strain on the family … a-a-a-nd …" He paused, and for the briefest moment there was a hitch in his voice before he continued, "Y'know, yesterday I went and bought a Christmas tree with my girls, and we had about two hours before I had to fly back to Washington to vote …" Valerie Jarrett, the family friend who had become one of his closest political advisers, thought Obama was going to tear up. She had seen it before, at a book party for "The Audacity of Hope" in 2006, when Obama had started to say he was sorry to have been away from his family so much during his campaign for the Senate, and began crying so hard he couldn't go on. Obama was remarkably self-contained, but he was also palpably emotionally attached to his family. Jarrett knew that he had not been able to keep his promises to Michelle about getting home to see her and the kids, and that the strain was starting to show.

From Newsweek

[CADEMOCRAT7]

27. Made me smile, thank you. How adorable and happy they look ! n/t