Political Punch

obama shouldnt smke come on cause ummm its bad for his health amd he has to do alot of work so and he has kids and thats not gud cause it can effect them to

Hey seems like a lot of the comments sumed up what I wanted to say about the President and his smoking (even though I didn't read all of them)He have more issues to worry about than smoking' he's human give the man a break. It's a stress relief even though I pefer the Almighty for mines. But we live and learn.Let's just focus on the more important things like the "Economy". ok. Can we just all get along?

i can not belive i voted for somebody that is not drug-free i still love u obama

Come on, who cares if he smokes. It is no one's business and it is his right. It is not illegal. There are more important issues to worry about. Smoke away!

Back off. It's none of your business. Just because he is in public office does not mean he has to answer every question he gets asked. Whether he smokes, whether he drinks coffee or tea, whether he wears socks when making love - it's none of our business. Your question, and in fact, the way you probed for the answer, makes you appear to be quite the pathetic jackass. Find something important to occupy your time.

Great persuader or great liar?
Why are you not doing articles on the fact that Obama has stopped talking about taking our troops out of Iraq? Just today the Iraqi Government voted to keep US troops until 2012. Didn't Obama promise change? Didn't he tell all you liberals that he would take the troops out day 1???
Change? What does that mean? You all were LIED to. And the liberal media never asked Obama a question!!!!

come on - is this serious journalism? who cares if he had a smoke? Let me tell you what I am concerned with: my 401(k) has lost about 50% of its value, my home has lost 20% of its value, left and right I see people losing their jobs and their homes and somehow, the fact that a man struggled to give up somkeing is news????? WHO CARES???? We have big problems to focus on and to solve...lets not get side tracked please.

I'd rather have him lie about a stupid cigarette (which was legal last time I checked, gross or not) than lie about why he's bombing and taking over countries that we shouldn't be in in the first place, big difference people! Wake up and grow up, you neo-con white trash are just using it as an excuse to say you don't trust him when you're really all racist pieces of PLOP!

HE needs to try a Crown7-no smell, no second hand smoke, no tar or carcinogens.
Then he will have one less thing to lie about.

Having not read all of the comments but only about half, someone else may have addressed this. However, it seems to me there are two reasonable explanations of the Obama encounter:

1. He was *around* someone else who was smoking. Maybe he was in a smoky room, or chatting with a friend who was smoking. Rarely, I will go to a smoky bar, and when I come home I have to take a shower because it's the only way to get the smoky smell off of me.

2. Even if he did lie, it may have been caused by momentary embarrassment at having quit!!! He is *human* after all, and humans tend to be embarrassed at failures, even temporary ones.

And frankly, as long as it is broadly true that he quit smoking, I don't think it's anyone's darned business whether he smoked a cigarette before quitting. Quitting is hard, and the more times you quit the more likely it is that you will stick with it. It's a personal issue, and not the business of the world whether he had a lone cigarette back in August.

COME ON FOLKS! Whatever party you choose, you certainly don't want kids to see a real, current president smoking. What will he say to our kids, "hey, start smoking so we can all quit together"?
Sorry, that is not the kind of "real human" I want as a president. Do we want the BEST person, or just any ole' guy to run our country? Is anyone of us really searching into the background of this, or any other candidate to see if they can lead anyone, anywhere?
HE SMOKES. That is a basic self-control thing guys...we can't fund his nicorette patch, or his pack a day either. That is not what they get paid for. If you choose to vote for him, fine, but let's put a little pressure on him to be a better role model.That should be his real job. He needs to be above what the average joe is, agree?

I would rather deal with Clinton's or Obama's type of "secret". Launching missiles to hide getting funky with an intern is bad, true enough. But you can't possibly say that things were worse before we let that cokehead rule the free world. As for McCain, following in the footsteps of a cokehead is even more insane.

I think if a person smokes it says something about them. And I do not mean something good.

I think it is a weak person who does not have the discipline to quit smoking.

I also am concerned about someone who is going to be in charge of legislating healthcare that does not care enough about their own health to quit smoking.

How much extra will we have to pay for healthcare for people who smoke?

Well, I'm a smoker and I definitely understand how hard it is to quit! I would even be glad that someone might be in the White House who would understand smokers concerns. Unfortunately, the fact that he hides it, makes it highly unlikely that he would be supportive of smokers concerns and might overreact in the opposite direction to keep hiding it. It also shows a lack of courage. I am constantly being pressured by friends, loved ones, co-workers, and business management to quit, but I successfully resist giving in until I'm ready. The last thing I would do is pretend to quit, but not actually quit and deny it or if not able to, act like I had. It is at best, disingenuous, and at least, cowardly, to do otherwise

MY GOSH!!! All this fuss over a man smoking a damn cigarette? The last time I checked Barack Obama was WELL over the legal age to buy cigarettes and smoke them if he chooses. If he chooses to be a closet smoker that is his right also. It has no bearing on his OBVIOUS qualifications for US President as opposed to that old codger and the soccer mom.

I do not care that he smoke, what I do care about is that he lied about it and that is what Jakes point is. If Obama is going to lie about smoking, about something so petty, then what happens when he lies to the american people about his dealings with much bigger issues??? Why are people so defensive over this guy?? He is NOTHING but another dirty politican!

I cannot believe that there are people out there who say they wouldn't vote for someone because they smoke! If you don't smoke and don't want to be around it, fine. But, have you forgotten that America is based on freedom? Just watch out because with an attitude like that, we'll next be monitoring how many times a week a candidate ate fast food or didn't exercise. Why don't we worry about politicians drinking and driving or taking mind altering drugs? The priorities in the U.S. are so screwed up. "Judge not lest you be judged".

Who really cares, people need to be worrying about the real topics at hand: Energy Costs, The Wars in Iraq and Afganistan, Health Care, and the Housing Crunch. Smoking is bad, but it is looked down upon too much in America, after years of ignorance.

The point? Why hide such a small thing? And certainly, why lie about it? Use your brains people. The issue isn't smoking. Should the highest office in the land go to a man who can't handle being open and honest about something as simple as his choice to smoke? Ridiculous.

I don't know about you, but it's a wakeup call when Brangelina gets more news than this election!