In an interview with Men’s Health editor Dave Zinczenko, Obama talked about coming to terms with his relationship with his father. ”I would like to think that most of the issues related to my father have been resolved,” he said. “That’s part of what writing Dreams from My Father was about: understanding him, his own personal tragedy. He wasn’t a presence in my life, he was an idea that I had to wrestle with for a long time. In this interview, on his 47th birthday, he said, “Somebody once said that every man is either trying to live up to his dad’s expectations or make up for his dad’s mistakes. And I’m sure I was doing a little bit of both,” Obama said said....

Whether you agree on his politics or not, Joe Biden made a statement tonight in the debate that rang true. No one any longer can insist that a mom can somehow understand what it is to be a parent. Moms and dads today find themselves in new situations, as Biden did when his wife and infant daughter were killed in a car crash in 1972. He was suddenly left with two young sons to care for by himself. Luckily, most dads don’t have to endure that kind of trouble, but more and more are staying at home full or part-time to be with their kids, and they do understand what role good mothering and fathering play to the develop of children.