[SKL]

In the interest of balance and not further highjacking the other thread about Palin, what are your thoughts?

[SKL]

By the way, I am extremely offended by the implication that any question about Barack Obama is based on bigotry and/or racism. So let me just say right off that bigotry and racism have no place on this thread.

[2xaround]

From everything I've seen, heard and read, Barack is a very good father. I believe it was his wife Michelle who talked about how he wanted to give his girls what he never had and that's a father who is present in their lives. I also think the fact that he was so quick to publicly state that Palin's children are off limits speaks volumes to his character as a man and as a father.

Thanks for starting this thread.

[Mindybeth6]

I think Obama seems like a WONDERFUL father. Truly. His kids seem very happy and I believe that they are growing up in a warm, loving home. As for the comment about the church on the other thread...I won't go there because I don't agree with that church. However, I still think he seems like a great and fun dad!

[allerseelen4]

It seems like they are great parents. I'm voting for the other guy, but I think their children are beautiful and it looks like they are doing a great job with them.

[guatamama2]

He seems to be a loving father, and I have not seen any reason to think other wise. That being said, I am a Republican and thought when he stated candidates children are off-limits I thought he was a class act for doing so. I just wish people (not just here) would stop trying to play Palin as a bad mother because she is doing something amazing, not only for herself, but her family. Think of the implications of having an advocate directly in the White House for children with Down Syndrome and potentially any children with special needs. We all are very fond of our Congress people who have helped us advocate for adoption and have taken action when needed!

Lets also not forget John McCain is also an adoptive father, and if what I read was true; that Cindy went on a humanitarian mission and came home with a daughter, there is something to be said about someone so accepting. I can assure you my DH (who is wonderful) would have had a bird if I came home with an unannouncedd kiddo

[adoptnky]

I also agree that he seems like a very nice father. I don't agree with him on the issues, so I won't be votiing for him, but I see nothing wrong with his parenting.

Kim

[Michelle Smiles]

My thoughts on Obama as a parent are the same as my thoughts on Palin as a parent - it is none of my business. His (and her) parenting doesn't effect his ability to run the country nor my opinion of him as a leader. That said, I think he is probably an okay dad.

[ToulouG]

I'm sure that he and Michelle are fine parents and good people. They have very pretty and graceful girls. That won't make him a qualified president in my opinion. I just don't agree with his position on hardly anything.

I am Republican and voting as such. I don't agree 100% with McCain/Palin, but I sure will be comfortable with him running the show!!!

Thanks SKL for saying all the things I was thinking and feeling....you are so much better at putting things into words than I am.

[erinelway]

I think his parenting has nothing to do with anything, just as I think about Palin.

By the way, I'd like to make something crystal clear. Asking questions about Barack Obama does not equal bigotry and racism. Insinuating that because he attended an elementary school in Indonesia, he does not love the United States, is. Particularly when that insinuation is buried in a highly inappropriate slam against Muslims.

Obama had a wonderful opportunity to live in another culture as a youth. He then lived in and went to junior high and high school in Hawaii.

Just wanted to clear that up.

[allerseelen4]

Insinuating that because he attended an elementary school in Indonesia, he does not love the United States

I have to agree with this. For crying out loud, which one of us had a choice about where we went to elementary school? I think that if people want to have these conversations, let's focus on issues. Who cares that Obama lived in Indonesia for a few years as a kid? Who cares that Joe Biden lived in Scranton until he was 11? Who cares that McCain was born on a naval base?

I don't. I think there is alot more stuff to talk about.

j

[SKL]

Erinelway: Since that other thread was closed I will refrain from responding to your comments, other than to say that I have nothing against Muslims, nor against their religion; I have read the Koran numerous times and memorized parts in English and Arabic; I have studied the religion in depth and believe it to be a beautiful religion in its basic form. Some of my very best friends are Muslim and some come from places that are largely or mostly Muslim. A comment from me that someone attended school in a Muslim country should not be read as a slam on that person (for that reason) nor on Islam. However, it cannot be denied that in Muslim countries, young people are likely to hear harsh criticisms of the USA.

My thoughts on Obama are:

1) How can anyone really answer this, since the press has respected Obama's demand that his children be left off limits?

2) I have little knowledge of what kind of father he is. His kids seem like normal kids for their age, from a distance.

3) I do have a concern that he involves them in assemblies where they hear divisive political and racist rhetoric.

4) I also feel that he should be spending as much time as possible with them, given that a girl's quality time with her father has a huge impact on her success as an adult. From what I have heard, he is allowing his political career to cut into his time with his kids a lot. Just a statement, not a judgment, to balance similar comments made about Ms. Palin.

5) Voters should give this issue the same weight as they give to the questions about Palin as a mother. I think that means zero weight for both sides, but from what I've heard so far, people don't seem to be able to ignore this issue on Palin's side, so maybe there ought to be more coverage of Obama's family to balance this out.

[Tazer]

As an informed Democrat who WILL be voting for Senator Obama during the election I must admit that I am doing so based strictly on the issues that are important to me as a Mom, as an American, and as a wage earner in general. I haven't given much thought to him as a father. He isn't my father or the father of my kids so it doesn't seem to matter. I would assume that being the husband for the last several years of a very intelligent woman like Michelle Obama his parenting abilities are intact. Being that for the past year he has been the object of very public close scrutiny, at the top of the FBI's 2 most investigated men list, and on the front page of every major newspaper in the nation I am certain that if he were lacking in parental skills or had abuse or neglect issues they would have been reported by now.

A church member yesterday asked what I thought about the way he dressed??? I guess many people = many thoughts. Tracy.. GO O!

[erinelway]

A comment from me that someone attended school in a Muslim country should not be read as a slam on that person (for that reason) nor on Islam.

Yes, I completely agree. Sadly, that was not what you wrote. To refresh your memory, THIS is what you wrote:

For all we know, that's what Mr. Obama was hearing during his childhood education in a muslim country, so maybe he thinks that's fine and dandy.

Now, to address this comment:

However, it cannot be denied that in Muslim countries, young people are likely to hear harsh criticisms of the USA

Your thesis seems to be that Obama's children were exposed to harsh criticisms right here in the USA. So why do we need to bring in the fact that he once, long long ago, as a child, for a few years, lived in a country where Islam is the predominant religion (although perhaps it should be noted that it is not, in fact, an Islamic state)?

I find it especially disturbing that, on a board where many of us have brought children from another culture and of a different race into our homes, people seem to want to stick their fingers in their ears and not hear what Reverend Wright seems to be saying. Which is that HIS experience in America is perhaps not the same as yours, or mine, or anyone else's. I was personally horrified by his comments. But perhaps not for the reason you think. The reason was that I was shocked at my own ignorance about other people's American experience. Instead of dismissing it out of hand as something that is akin to child abuse, perhaps we can learn something from it? Just to be crystal clear again: I do NOT agree with Revenend Wright's inflammatory comments, but I did choose to learn something from them.

I do have a concern that he involves them in assemblies where they hear divisive political and racist rhetoric.

If we are going to play the turnabout is fair play game, then please do educate yourself on some of the teachings coming from Palin's church, which were already mentioned...speaking of divisive politics and bigotry. I suspect that there may be a few Jews that find her church as horrifying as you seem to find Obama's.

[CEB]

I feel the same way about Obama as a father as I do (and have said repeatedly) about Palin as a mother - it is not relevant to his qualifications for office or my voting decision at all. We really do not need to know whether any candidate is a good parent. What we need is enough information to determine whether or not they are potential good leaders for our nation in an extremely difficult time.


And finally, I find most extremist churches (or other places of worship) pretty horrifying when they sanction hatred or blame (which is a license for hatred) of another group en masse. The separation of church and state is one of the greatest concepts underlying our nation. Hope we can keep it that way.