By Michael Kinsely doesn’t seem to think so.
If Obama actually has accomplished the miracle of giving up cigarettes at the apogee of a presidential race, he should be happy to let us know this and add to his superman image. And if he hasn’t? Well, if he is straight with us about it, we should forgive him. So he’s not a superman. Neither are we. In a democracy, that is a good thing for ruler and ruled to know they have in common. Furthermore, as presidential vices go, this one is not near the top. As for being a role model for youths, Obama’s good habits outweigh this single bad one. He’s great on hydration, apparently.
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Another question is what effect a president desperate for a cigarette and trying to quit might have on your life expectancy and mine. Obama’s steely calm is now one of our country’s major assets. If he needs an occasional cigarette to preserve it, let’s hand him an ashtray, offer him a light and look the other way.
My mother died of lung cancer when she was 53. She was a two pack a day smoker who couldn’t give up the habit even after part of one lung removed at age 50. I’ve never even taken one puff on a cigarette. Like my neglect to watch television reality shows like ‘Survivor’, I hope to maintain that record to the grave.
BTW, Leonita and allow no cigarette smoking in the house. We only have one or two friends who do it anyway.
Personal feelings aside, I could care less if Obama smokes or not. It is his body to poison, and I don’t see him setting an example one way or the other.
Doug at Below the Beltway writes-
In the long run, whether or not Obama smokes every now and then isn’t that big a deal.
Incidentally, if Obama is still a smoker, we would have yet another West Wing parallel; you may recall that Jed Bartlett was known to bum a smoke from reporters and Secret Service Agents.
I watched TWW also and don’t recall Bartlett smoking as Doug describes but could be wrong. Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan would ask his secreatary or anyone who was convenient for a cigarette after the one-time CIA analyst got promoted to the Presidency at the end of ‘Debt of Honor’.
7:00 am on November 22nd, 2008 1
Kids are not going to start smoking because the president smokes. They pick up the habit from their friends. Ditto for drugs. Every year we have a silly, ineffective “Say no to drugs” week, during which kids wear slippers to show that they’ll give drugs the slip or wear their clothes backwards to back away from drugs. An effective anti-drug campaign would copy the methods of product marketers by targeting the influential trend setters. I recall seeing on 60 Minutes or some other weekly TV news show about how cigarette companies tried to stop a rare, effective anti-smoking campaign. Rather than lecture kids on the dangers of smoking, the campaign depicted how tobacco companies manipulate consumers into trying their product. Teens didn’t like the idea that they were being suckered.
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10:01 am on November 22nd, 2008 2
Sonagi,
Such frank comments from a person who is anonymous. Lets hear you say that otherwise!!
Well, I suppose you will not be here again!
Do you know about the chippawa? And first peoples?
If you answer this, be civil!
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4:17 pm on November 22nd, 2008 3
She would have to decipher what the hell you are rambling about first to be able to respond.
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5:33 am on November 23rd, 2008 4
“Should we care if Barack Obama smokes?”
Only if you are sheeple:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZiWd0bGAdc
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6:26 am on November 23rd, 2008 5
Does he smoke the same brand as Clinton?
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8:53 am on November 23rd, 2008 6
So what about universal healthcare? Should individuals who willingly engage in known high-risk behavior like smoking be covered? His smoking does raise some interesting ethical questions.
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3:22 pm on November 23rd, 2008 7
Knickerbocker,
Like Jane Fonda’s guns and Al Gore’s SUV, limousine liberalism is troubled by none of these sticky ethical questions.
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8:16 pm on December 20th, 2008 8
I know people in their 90’s who smoke. I know people who died a young age of ARDS and they didn’t smoke!!!!!!!!!!! Look up ARDS. You don’t have to be a smoker to get it. If Obama smokes, fine with me.
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