Thursday, June 18, 2009

Bayh Reintroducing Responsible Fatherhood Bill

Update June 19: Obama will speak on fatherhood at 3:15 p.m. eastern.
I enjoy the discussions on Morning Joe because they can be critical of the Obama administration without getting loud and stupid.
Evan Bayh talks about the deficits, the latest polling and his responsible fatherhood bill. This is a bill he's reintroducing.
The bill is designed to get fathers to help raise their kids. The majority of fathers do the right thing, he says, but a new crop of young men think it's cool to have a kid. Bayh says Obama is a supporter of the bill, which is aimed at low income families.
Obama is expected to talk about the importance of fathers for father's day.
Let me talk about fathers for a moment. I don't think it's fathers, per se, that are the problem. I think it's men in general who, since the women's liberation movement in the 1970s, have gradually lost their groove. Since they no longer play the superior role to women, they're still trying to figure out what their role is.
Also, if a 19 year old kid has a kid and no job, what are the chances of that kid being a great father? The 19 year old mother, on the other hand, has no other choice but to pick up the slack.