I recently learned, from Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s State of the City address, that New York State has something called the Fatherhood Initiative. It’s meant to… well, that’s a little hazy. The state’s Website says it “supports the development of collaborative strategies between social services districts and community organizations to assist noncustodial parents in meeting the financial and emotional needs of their children.” Left unsaid is what kind of support that is, or what kind of strategies they are, or whether “noncustodial parents” means deadbeats or prisoners or just people who got the bad end of a divorce ruling. (There are very few things in this world that are murkier than the clotted language of the social sciences, but I’ll save that rant for the day we launch grammarwagon.com.)

But at least these folks have done something! As all DoSomethings want to do. And what they’ve done is commission a study and produce a DVD. Perceptions of Fathers in the Media: In Search of the Ideal Father tells us that sitcom dads are wiser and more accepting than real-life dads, and that we all can learn a lot from, say, The Cosby Show.

Never mind that every TV viewer with a brain in his head knows that (a) sitcom dads are traditionally portrayed as genial idiots, easily manipulated by the rest of the family; (b) sitcom families are breathtakingly cruel to one another, as you’ll quickly learn if you ever attempt to deploy a strategy you’ve seen on TV, and (c) the more off-putting the family dynamic is, the better the show.

Oh, and by the way? Dr. Huxtable may have been a sweetie, but Dr. William H. Cosby Jr. appears to have been friendly in all the wrong ways. Watch the reruns; enjoy his excellent old comedy records, sure; but maybe shy away from his moral guidance.

Governor Paterson, I think I’ve found you an easy budget cut. But if you, reader, disagree, you can order the DVD here.