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Barack & Michelle dealing with racial issues

Filed under: In The News, Playground Bureau, Media

The applause over the first black presidential candidate in the history of the United States had barely died down when FOX News made the bizarre decision to use the subtitle "Obama's baby mama" as the subtitle to footage of the candidate's wife aired during a segment discussing conservative attacks on Michelle Obama.

While it's true that Michelle Obama is the mama to Barack's babies, "baby mama" is a Jamaican Creole slang term for a woman who is not married to her child's father. The term has been used frequently in hip hop songs and the vernacular of people trying to be hip.

The main problem with the term in this setting is that Michelle and Barack are married. As are Bill and Hillary, George and Laura, and John and Cindy McCain, yet never once have the white political mothers been referred to as baby mamas.

Getting these racial biases out in the open might be what it takes to finally be rid of them and Obama himself made it clear this past weekend that he's willing to do that, even speaking bluntly if need be, for the betterment of the country.

Speaking in front of a congregation of African-American church-goers on Father's Day, Obama called out bad dads saying, "Too many fathers are M.I.A, too many fathers are AWOL, missing from too many lives and too many homes. They have abandoned their responsibilities, acting like boys instead of men. And the foundations of our families are weaker because of it." Obama noted that more than half of all black children now live in single parent households and that number has doubled since the time he was a child. But rather than just reciting statistics, Obama understands and can put a face on the numbers, he was only two years old when his own father abandoned their family.

He also told the congregation to stop over celebrating insignificant things and focus on the bigger picture and the future. "Don't get carried away with that eighth-grade graduation," he said, bringing many members of the congregation to their feet, applauding. "You're supposed to graduate from eighth grade."

No matter who wins in November, American society will owe a huge debt to Michelle and Barack Obama for serving as the lighting rods for starting these dialogs between citizens of all colors, and that's something their children can be very proud of.

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Start by teaching him that it is safe to do so.