Full on dad

Responding to my previous post on Latham's turn to full-time fathering, a friend questioned whether Latham was being genuine about it, how long being a full-time home-dad would last, and whether it was really about positioning himself for something later.

I think the response may be found in his Diaries. Though I haven't read it myself, Robert Manne's review essay of the Diaries in the recent The Monthly reveal some key points:

• Latham was really taken with his two boys
• He had been wondering which were his greater achievements: those from being in politics, or being a father and raising children.

Reviewers have pointed out that Latham increasingly believed politics to be toxic and futile. I think the clinching point on the sincerity of Latham's turn to fatherhood is Manne's point that Latham had been deeply affected by the words of (ironically) former Howard government minister Warwick Smith:

"A day you miss with you kids is a day you never get back."

Yep.