White House hopeful Barack Obama gave a tough-love but optimistic Father’s Day sermon at the Apostolic Church of God Sunday, exhorting other fathers, especially African-Americans, to meet their responsibilities.

“Any fool can have a child — that doesn’t make you a father,” Obama said to cheers of agreement. “Too many fathers are missing from too many lives and too many homes. They have abandoned their responsibilities. They are acting like boys instead of men. And the foundations of our families have suffered because of it.

“You and I know this is true everywhere but nowhere is it more true than in the African-American community. We know that more than half of all black children live in single-parent households. Half. There’s a reason why our families are in disrepair and some of it has to do with a tragic history, but we can’t keep on using that as an excuse.”

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