So: We have a new father with young children in the White House. The way he behaves as a father might not be as important as his official duties. Or it might be the most important thing he does.

From President Obama's Father's Day speech last June:

"Life doesn't count for much unless you're willing to do your small part to leave our children--all of our children--a better world."

The Wrestler

The trailer for The Wrestler, with Mickey Rourke, was very effective, but not in the way Fox Searchlight probably intended--it convinced me I did not want to see the movie. Rourke looked almost unwatchable. That face made me cringe.

Later, I changed my mind. I still did not want to see it, but I felt that I should. And a few days ago, Elizabeth and I went to see it. I found the film almost haunting, and Rourke's performance was extraordinary. Elizabeth felt the same way.

It has a small, but poignant plot strand related to fatherhood. Rourke tells the pole-dancer who's his only friend (Marisa Tomei) that he has a daughter, "but she don't like me very much."

Later, he makes an attempt to reconnect. (No spoilers here--this is all in the trailer.) "I just don't want you to hate me," he tells her, erupting in tears.

It's a little beyond what most of us experience with our kids. But there's something very real there.

See it.

The Exception Magazine reprints Fathers and Families posts

The Exception Magazine is an online publication that says it is "committed to the highest standards of journalistic excellence," and to "Maine values." I'm not sure what Maine values are, but I have spent a lot of time in Maine on assignment as a reporter for the AP and Business Week, and I like the place. So I'm buying into Maine values.

Kidding aside, this looks like a serious effort to publish good journalism online.

And I'm happy to say that The Exception Magazine has republished my post on fathers and progesterone, and has asked about reprinting others.