Oklahoma's Borens battle out about Barack

Baby boomers know the popular Fifties sitcom "Father Knows best," in which Robert Young portrayed the wise family man known for bestowing wisdom upon his offspring.

For David and Dan Boren, the show's title serves as an adage for Oklahoma's most famous political family. The advice fits like a nice, snug sweater on a chilly winter morning a half-century later.

Congressman Dan Boren, a chip off the old block, displayed hoof-in-mouth disease when he reportedly said he planned to vote for presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama but would not formally endorse him.

What? Well, when you consider 66 percent of his 2nd Congressional District voted for Hillary Rodham Clinton, the logic becomes a little clearer.

It didn't help when the elder Boren started questioning Junior's logic. David Boren, the University of Oklahoma president, endorsed Obama in April and was pegged last week to join the candidate's Senior Working Group on National Security.

Maybe his son needed a homework assignment on his decision?

"I think he needs to do some more research on that," David Boren told the Tulsa World. "There's plenty of time for more thinking between now and November, and I think the more thinking the more enthusiastic he'll get."

Or does Dan Boren think Obama is more liberal than he really is?

"I think that is largely a myth," the elder Boren told the World. "He has been in the Senate too short a time to take any particular votes as indicative of his ideology."

What about all the talk about his middle name of "Hussein" and questions about his religion?

"People have said he is not a Christian," David Boren reportedly said. "People have said he won't salute the flag. These are outright lies. This is the worst kind of old-time political smear."

The harshest words about his son's non-endorsement came during an interview with Chicago's WVON-AM, according to CNN.

"We've grown up in a family where we were taught to think for ourselves, but I have to say I'm puzzled about how much thinking he put into that before he said it," David Boren said. "I think he'll probably be saying some other things.

"He did say he was going to vote for Barack Obama. He just made the puzzling statement he wasn't gong to endorse him. Well, when you say publicly you're voting for somebody I think that means you're supporting them."

Father knows best. After his original comments, Dan Boren clarified his Obama stance.

"Earlier statements I made about the presidential race have been misunderstood," Dan Boren told the World. "I want to make it clear I will vote for our designated nominee at the Democratic convention and in November."

Glad we cleared that up.

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