Obama Discusses Duties of Fatherhood

Monday, June 16, 2008

SENATOR'S SERMON

Obama Discusses Duties of Fatherhood

Calling himself "an imperfect father," Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) spoke of the need for more African American men to live up to their responsibilities in a Father's Day sermon yesterday.

Obama said that too many black fathers are "missing from too many lives and too many homes," adding that these men "have abandoned their responsibilities, acting like boys instead of men. And the foundations of our families are weaker because of it."

His sermon at Chicago's Apostolic Church of God, with his wife and two daughters in the audience, marked the first time that he had addressed a church since ending his membership at Trinity United Church of Christ, his longtime place of worship.

More police on the street and job training programs are essential for a safe and sound society, Obama said, "but we also need families to raise our children."

"I say this knowing that I have been an imperfect father -- knowing that I have made mistakes and will continue to make more, wishing that I could be home for my girls and my wife more than I am right now," he said. "I say this, knowing all of these things, because even as we are imperfect, even as we face difficult circumstances, there are still certain lessons we must strive to live and learn as fathers -- whether we are black or white, rich or poor, from the South Side or the wealthiest suburb."

Obama said he was fortunate to have his grandparents aid his mother in his upbringing.

"Even though my father left us when I was 2 years old, and I only knew him from the letters he wrote and the stories that my family told, I was luckier than most. I grew up in Hawaii, and had two wonderful grandparents from Kansas who poured everything they had into helping my mother raise my sister and me -- who worked with her to teach us about love and respect and the obligations we have to one another," he told the audience. "I screwed up more often than I should've, but I got plenty of second chances. And even though we didn't have a lot of money, scholarships gave me the opportunity to go to some of the best schools in the country. A lot of kids don't get these chances today. There is no margin for error in their lives."

-- Juliet Eilperin

SHARED OUTLOOK

McCain Meets With Iraqi Foreign Minister

Presumptive GOP nominee John McCain (Ariz.) met privately with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari for a half-hour at his campaign headquarters in Crystal City, with the men then calling in reporters as they complimented one another and voiced their shared faith that the war in Iraq is succeeding.

"It's very important that we not let any of this success slip away, and the relationship and partnership that has led -- and the new strategy that has led -- to the success that it has, I am confident will continue," McCain said.

Zebari told reporters: "I have said to the senator that . . . thanks to the surge strategy and to the growth of Iraqi military security capabilities, Iraq has the lowest level of violence since the last four years."

"And we, I think, have the right policies, we have the right personnel now and we are working together in fact to realize a democratic Iraq, a stable and peaceful Iraq and to be a partner to the United States."

Zebari said he would also make time during his U.S. stay to meet with Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and "explain the same situation to him in Iraq."

"It's in our interest, in fact, to brief both candidates on the reality of the situation, the way we see it from our perspective, from people who've been at the thick of this conflict," the foreign minister said.

Zebari said that he and McCain discussed how they both look forward to a U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq, but that the moment has not arrived for that exit.

"Both agreed neither of us want . . . troops to stay there for indefinitely, forever in Iraq. And we look for the day when these forces will come back, with dignity and in a victorious manner, but still there is some time to realize that," he said.

McCain sidestepped a question about whether he would commit to defending Iraq indefinitely, which Iraqi officials have demanded, and which Obama has refused to do.

"Well, the fact is that the situation on the ground is that we have made enormous success and the surge has worked. Senator Obama was wrong when he said it would fail. Senator Obama was wrong when he said that we had to have an immediate date of withdrawal from troops from Iraq," McCain said. "He's just wrong. The facts on the ground clearly indicate that. As I've always said and the foreign minister just said, we have and can -- with the success of the strategy -- withdraw American troops. And that's success. That's the way wars end when you win, is that you succeed and then you withdraw."

-- Juliet Eilperin

FUNDRAISER CONTROVERSY

Dinner Rescheduled After Remark on Rape

A John McCain fundraiser initially sponsored by a controversial Texas oilman will be held later in the summer at a different venue, according to an aide who asked not to be identified.

McCain had planned to hold a joint fundraiser with the Republican National Committee today at the Midland, Tex., home of Clayton Williams, who ran for governor of his state in 1990. But after reporters from The Washington Post and ABC inquired Friday about a remark Williams made comparing rape to bad weather -- "As long as it's inevitable, you might as well lie back and enjoy it" -- the campaign canceled the fundraiser. Williams has apologized for the remark.

A McCain aide confirmed in an e-mail that the contributors who had already made a combined donation of at least $300,000 to the event would have another chance to meet McCain.

"The event at Williams' home on Monday has been cancelled and there will be another Midland event for supporters at a public venue later this summer," the staffer wrote.

According to the McCain aide, "Mr. Williams will not be attending the Midland event later this summer."

-- Juliet Eilperin