On the eve of Father’s Day 2007, the verdict on how well today’s dads measure up is mixed - about half of the public says they’re doing a worse job compared with fathers a generation ago, while the other half says they’re doing as good a job or even better - according to the Pew Research Center.

Fully 59% of men and 62% of women say today’s dads have a tougher time of doing their fatherly duties. Only 12% of the public says it easier to be a dad today, while roughly a quarter say it’s about the same as it was a generation ago.

On how well fathers are doing in raising their kids, women have a more benevolent view: A majority (56%) of women say today’s dads are doing as good a job or a better job raising their kids compared with fathers a generation ago.

Men are tougher on themselves: Only 41% of men say today’s dads are doing as good a job or a better job than the dads of the 1970s and ’80s; 55% say today’s dads are doing a worse job.

Some 72% of married moms who work at least part-time and are raising young children say dads are now doing as good a job or better than their counterparts did a generation ago; only 26% say they’re falling short.

However, surveys of adult children show that the parent they feel closes to is mom, not dad; a 2005 Pew Research Center survey found that 61% of adults with both parents still living said they have the most contact with their mother. Only 18% said they have the most contact with their father.

Though 87% said they are close to their mother, fewer (74%) said the same about their father. On average, dog and cat owners feel closer to their pets than adult children feel to their fathers.