Raising Boys The Obama Way

You never, ever, ever, never thought you needed advice raising sons from former President Barack Obama. He seemed to be a loving father to his two daughters. Raising boys though? No. Hale no. Michele’s Mom help raise the two girls during the White House years, but a boy. Nah. Many folks have thought of Barack Obama as a Manchurian Candidate. I have always thought of Obama as The Man Who Wasn’t There. Wouldn’t want him near my boy.

Antigonish

Yesterday, upon the stair,
I met a man who wasn’t there!
He wasn’t there again today,
I wish, I wish he’d go away!

When I came home last night at three,
The man was waiting there for me
But when I looked around the hall,
I couldn’t see him there at all!
Go away, go away, don’t you come back any more!
Go away, go away, and please don’t slam the door… (slam!)

Last night I saw upon the stair,
A little man who wasn’t there
He wasn’t there again today
Oh, how I wish he’d go away….

“The Man Who Wasn’t There” is about perception versus reality, among many other things. Barack Obama was great at giving speeches. He was nicknamed the Teleprompter of the United States (TOTUS). Read the speeches now and they are meaningless. He was all things to all people and he was nothing. He was the Man Who Wasn’t There.

On her IMO podcast, Michele told us that she was glad she didn’t have a son:

On a Wednesday episode of her podcast, “IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson,” the former first lady welcomed radio host Angie Martinez for a wide-ranging conversation that eventually turned to parenting. As they tackled what it takes to raise kids who grow into decent humans, the subject of sons — and their social conditioning — entered the chat.

“You should have thrown a boy in the mix,” Martinez jokingly said.

With a laugh — and a hint of relief — Obama didn’t miss a beat.

“I’m so glad I didn’t have a boy,” she said.

Ever the thoughtful interviewer, Martinez pressed her on why.

Obama’s answer? Her hypothetical son would have had impossibly large shoes to fill.

“He would’ve been a Barack Obama,” she admitted with a smile.

Martinez called the idea of raising a mini Barack “amazing,” but the former FLOUTS didn’t hesitate to acknowledge the weight such a legacy might place on a child.

“I would have felt for him,” she said, acknowledging that it’s a lot to live up to..

Bizarre that her girls have nothing to live up to, but Barack’s wording is even more out of this world.

Barack Obama tells Michelle that men need gay friends.

“I had a gay professor in college at a time when openly gay folks still weren’t out- who became one of my favorite professors. You need that to show empathy and kindness.”

@JesseBWatters pic.twitter.com/MMrXdn4eB7

— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) July 17, 2025

The Daily Wire has even more:

Former President Barack Obama said this week that males need to have gay friends to call them out over “ignorant” remarks and to prepare them in case they have a gay or “non-binary” son.

Obama made the comments on his wife Michelle’s “IMO” podcast, which she co-hosts with her brother, Craig Robinson.

When the discussion turned to raising young men, Obama said boys need “exposure” to all sorts of male role models, who can sometimes shed “perspective” on their own dad.

“And that’s one of the things that I think a lot of times boys need, is, not just exposure to one guy — one dad,” the former president said. “No matter how good the dad is, he can’t be everything. And that boy may need somebody to give the boy some perspective on the dad, right?”

Can you say icky? Go bleach your eyes, I will wait. Obama has to give speeches because when he speaks off the cuff, he gives too much of himself away. He doesn’t have the same speechwriters as he did in the Presidency and it shows. Part of our problem as a society is that fathers are not encouraged to hang around for their boys.

Barack Obama’s purported father wasn’t around. His maternal grandfather, Stanley Dunham, filled in. Family “friend” Frank Marshall Davis also filled in. They are all gruesome and all unproven. Use your imagination. Yet, something else happened when Barack was growing up. He is empty.

In addition to a father and a mother, it is important that all boys respect themselves and their families. They must have moral clarity and clear rules. Boys must treat each and every person with respect. But, they must also protect their own boundaries and know what they stand for.

If they don’t have rules and boundaries, boys will be the man who wasn’t there, like Barack Obama.

Featured Image: Ari Levinson/Wikimedia Commons.org/cropped/Creative Commons 3.0

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