I'll tell you I didn't vote for President Obama and I don't agree with much of his agenda. In fact, some of his platform causes apoplexy in conservatives like me.

It happens all the time at cocktail parties in Georgia. A person brings up this avatar of "change" and sets off a chain reaction of emotion. Pop, pop, pop! At least half the heads in the room have promptly exploded.

On the other hand, I realize President George W. Bush didn't exactly unite the electorate. When a man can't even get a hug from Bono after devoting more American dollars than any prior U.S. president to the problem of AIDS in Africa (the U2 singer's pet cause), you know he's not feeling the love from liberals.

Yet I am certain there would be no debate between these two men (or their supporters) on at least one issue that impacts the health of American society and the ultimate cost of health care to the taxpayer.

Of course I'm not talking about the sweeping proposals on the table for "Obamacare." I am talking about the negative implications of the skyrocketing out-of-wedlock birth rate in the United States.

Though admittedly in the minutia of what feeds the leviathan of healthcare costs in this country, it would seem wise for politicians to more closely consider societal issues such as this one, which are effectively driving factors behind why burgeoning entitlement programs like Medicaid are unsustainable.

First, let's look at some quick facts. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, almost four in 10 Americans in 2007 were born to unwed mothers. Seventy-two percent of all African-American babies were born out of wedlock. Forty-five percent of all Hispanic babies born at that time fell into this group. Non-marital birth rates were the highest for women of all races in their early 20s. Teenage moms accounted for a quarter of out-of-wedlock births.

Apart from being shocking, why do these statistics matter?

Being raised by a single mother does not predestine a child to failure - Obama did fine, thank you - but there's plenty of non-refutable evidence to show it seriously stacks the deck while draining billions from the public purse.

Children born into single parent circumstances account for higher infant mortality rates, higher poverty rates, greater chances for substance abuse, higher chances for eventual incarceration, higher dependency on welfare and public health care, and fewer chances to succeed in education.

"In light of these facts," President Obama wrote in "The Audacity of Hope," "policies that strengthen marriage for those who choose it and discourage unintended births outside of marriage are sensible goals to pursue."

That's common sense with which we all can agree. Conversely, during his terms in office, President Bush did his part to support the nuclear family by getting rid of the dreaded marriage penalty tax.

In fact, Obama and Bush can both be given effusive praise when it comes to marriage without causing partisan heads to explode because both men have lived exemplary personal lives. They obviously love and respect their wives, are devoted fathers, and have been vocal advocates of two-parent families.

So wouldn't something simple like taking more concrete measures to strengthen marriage and cut the out-of-wedlock birthrate serve as an easy way for politicians to empower constituents while compassionately driving down the costs of health care in America for those taxpayers who fund Medicaid?

Doesn't it make sense to shrink entitlement programs like Medicaid by reducing the number of families who need it?

I understand health care in general is the talk of the day, but we could break-up the vitriol of opposition politics by starting a more narrow dialogue on the positive effects - social and economic - of curtailing the out-of-wedlock birth rate? That is a consensus issue that impacts the bigger picture of the cost of health care.

Perhaps such a dialogue would be just a baby step in this debate, but more baby steps would actually move us in the right direction.

Barbara Donnelly Lane of east Cobb is teacher and writer who has contributed to the BBC, the MDJ and myriad other publications.