Caring Fathers to Dance on the Political Stage

Admittedly, it is foolish to predict a trend. Still, it is hard to avoid licking one's chops in anticipation that just as 2008 welcomed "hockey moms" to the political lexicon, the presidential election of 2012 could well be the year of the Hair Braiding Dads as a make-or-break demographic niche.

Soccer moms drove kids in minivans around and around; NASCAR dads sucked down beers in front of the tv; and HBDs will be the cohort of single dads who are their child(ren)'s sole or primary caregiver. [Earlier: Daddy Demographics] The prototype is current candidate for VPOTUS, Joe Biden, who lost his wife but carried on raising his children alone for many years. [Earlier: Veep Daddies]

Coupled and single moms get most of the buzz, but in a quad of annums it will be the single pops' turn to pirouette on the grand stage.

And, to dive head first into the predicing biz, while the spotlight will shine most blindingly during the United States' election year, the international nature of the group is easily grasped. In India already, a near equal number of single dads and moms are equally, heavily involved in their kids's schools (46 percent to 48 percent). In Jamaica, men are breaking through the braiding and class parent barriers. And even in Australia, home of the super Sheilas, there are emerging clusters of HBDs.

Four more years ...