It’s been a long time since the self-proclaimed black leader did anything useful, but Jackson has now – quite unintentionally – turned a bright spotlight on Barack Obama’s traditional views of parenthood. With his crude remarks several days ago, Jackson raised public awareness of an aspect of Obama’s beliefs that would have received little news media attention otherwise.

The news cycle has been filled not only with Jackson’s apology, but also with commentary over what Obama said to provoke Jackson’s outrage. Now, many more Americans have been exposed to Obama’s completely conventional, commonsense beliefs that fathers should be actively involved in their children’s lives and that parents ought to encourage educational excellence.

Jackson’s meltdown notwithstanding, Obama’s tough love – like Bill Cosby’s – is generally well-received by black audiences. Many black Americans have observed the decline of the family with alarm, just as many other Americans have. The Chicago Sun-Times reported that the congregation at the Apostolic Church of God met Obama’s remarks with “cheers of agreement.”

Jackson’s did accomplish one thing…it got more attention on the message of Obama that has been lost in the media.  A media that bills itself as a issue oriented report, but seldom touches on many issues.  This situation did that for them.