Using his own story, Obama implores fathers to be responsible

He spoke at length about how his father, Barack Obama Sr., left home early. The future president was just 2 at the time and saw his dad only once more, at age 10, a short visit that left a lasting imprint.

“I had a heroic mom and wonderful grandparents who helped raise me and my sister, and it’s because of them that I’m able to stand here today,’’ he told a throng of youngsters. “But despite all their extraordinary love and attention, that doesn’t mean that I didn’t feel my father’s absence. That’s something that leaves a hole in a child’s heart that a government can’t fill.

“Just because your own father wasn’t there for you, that’s not an excuse for you to be absent also. It’s all the more reason for you to be present,’’ Obama said.

“You have an obligation to break the cycle and to learn from those mistakes, to rise up where your own fathers fell short and do better than they did,’’ Obama said. “That’s what I’ve tried to do with my life.’’

An estimated 24 million American children are growing up with absent fathers, and a disproportionate number of them are African-American. Those children are at higher risk of falling into lives of poverty and crime and becoming parents themselves in their teenage years.

The White House is trying to tackle that problem, adding to its packed domestic agenda, but without seeking legislation or new policies. It is sponsoring forums around the country this summer and fall to promote programs for mentors and fathers and to see how the federal government can support them.

Obama mingled with the youngsters on the South Lawn as they chatted with other big names from entertainment and sports, ate barbecue, and got some lessons about life.

Danilo Downing, a 16-year-old who just finished his sophomore year at Yorktown High School in Arlington, Va., said the White House visit changed his life. He’s never met his father, and connected with the president’s comments.