Obama is Smokin'

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!

I will not vote for a nicotine addict.

Wow, you people are really small minded - you can't trust a person who smokes??!! Do you know that nicotine is more addictive than heroin?? It's not that easy to "just quit", and why did he start in the first place?? Maybe you don't understand the pressures of growing up biracial and the pressure of studying at Harvard Law School. You won't vote for somebody who smokes - give me a break!! You want a role model for you kids, how about somebody who was president of the law review at Harvard. Ok, Obama is not God, he is not perfect, but he realizes that smoking is not good and he is trying to quit and he is being honest about the relapse. Quitting is not easy, but given all that Obama has overcome in his life, I'm sure he will overcome this too in time. Think about the real issues when you go to vote in November!!

Although I am disappointed to learn that my candidate smokes, this does not change my support. Smoking is a negative for me but I hope that there are venues or lessons that we can offer all smokers. IT took me ten years to quit. I tried being hypnotized, gum, patches, programs, exercise, yoga... Under the kind of pressure Obama is under, I don't know if now is the time, althoug the example thing... the parent thing... and let him not let down Michelle. Lets get a list of all the public officials who smoke.

Keep on trying to quit! That is all that is important. Lets recognize that smart competent people smoke. This is an addiction folks.

Oh Please, cut the crap about how the Media are Our representatives and it's your duty to find out the truth to keep our political leaders in check...

did the media disappear from 2002-2005? Did you not exist?

Where were you when our political leaders were lying to us every day and all the media did was Cheer and copy the propaganda straight from the donkey's mouth.

You failed the American people.

The media didn't do their job, and frankly, who cares if Obama smoked. Don't you have anything better to talk about? There is a gruesome war going on in Iraq and Afghanistan and all you can talk about is Obama smoking... the Media is FULL OF IT! you don't do your job, at all. Besides, you all work for Rupert anyways

He is not setting the right example to our youth, he has lied about not smoking, he is not trust worthy and he does not deserve the nomination

Obama is a phony, and this is just one more example of it. Typical Democrat running for President, but this time the party is going full throttle pushing the gender card (Clinton) as well as the race card (Obama), with neither having the necessary experience to be commander in chief.

I can't wait for either of them to win, just for a good 4 years of laughter.

Most non-smokers, even former smokers, view those who smoke today as weak-willed people with little regard for their own bodies. It revels a lot about a man's character.

Smoking is NOT acceptible in today's society. Back in the 50's when over 50% of the population smoked, cigarettes were even advertised as a healthy pick-you-up, but we've known how dangerous they really are ever since Obama was a kid. So why did he ever pick up such a depised, self-destructive habit in the first place? And why can't he kick the habit now? Again, it says a lot about his character.

WOW, THIS IS IMPORTANT STUFF! Now maybe you should see if someone lied about something much less consequential- the $3 trillion war of choice, Katrina, budget deficits--you know, the small stuff

Except that I don't like feeling that I wasn't being dealt with honestly. And as much as citizens who are suspect of the media might scoff at such a notion, many of us consider ourselves to be your representatives to help make sure our leaders are telling us the truth, and leading the country down a path we as a nation are confident is the right one.

You guys kinda screwed the pooch on that Iraq thingamajiggy though, don't ya think?......

Wow, such DEEP journalism!

Why is McCain getting a free ride?

"...many of us consider ourselves to be your representatives to help make sure our leaders are telling us the truth..." about stupid meaningless things like smoking. For anything of importance, we roll over like little puppies.

I don't know how I missed this smoking issue. I admit it has a serious effect on how I feel about Barack. As a matter of fact, after being 100% behind Barack since the speech he gave announcing his candidacy, I don't think I can vote for him if he's still smoking. It's a blow to learn he ever did. My argument is "how smart CAN you be to start smoking EVER." That is my policy for everyone. I'm very disapointed.

You know what this is bizzare so he smoked a cigarette big deal, would it be better if he were drinking and driving like our bush has done in the past, and lord only knows if he was when those nuclear-warhead components wound up in Taiwan, write some real stuff some serious things like what the media just brushed under the rug so fast, with this nuclear-warhead compenets
in Taiwan thats IMPORTANT news not a cigarette.

Why is this an issue?

Has our media really stooped to this point?

Sen. Obama made quitting smoking a campaign issue when he publicly announced he was quitting because his wife insisted he do so if he wanted to run for President. He even joked that if anyone saw him smoking to tell Michelle. Even though I voted for him, I was, and am, troubled by his addiction. First, Sen. Obama downplayed the extent of his addiction, stating that he smoked very little. Yet months later he is still unable to wean himself off nicotine. Second, I find it hard to believe an intelligent person would not be more motivated by the threat smoking poses to their own health than by how it is perceived by voters. Third, while Sen. Obama supports raising Federal cigarette taxes and FDA oversight of tobacco products, he, unlike Edwards, Biden, and Dodd, has rejected calls for a national smoke-free workplace law.

Finally, for those who think this issue is inconsequential, I would point out that smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the US. It kills more Americans than AIDS, illegal drugs, murder, suicide, and car crashes combined. It results in billions of dollars in health care costs, a large percentage of which is borne by taxpayers. It is estimated that smoking will kill a billion people worldwide this century. To imply that smoking is not, or should not, be an important issue is uninformed. 438,000 Americans dead each year from smoking stacks up rather well against the death toll from the Iraqi war.

"Not a big deal in the scheme of things" "Hardly worth mentioning" "Not that Sens. Hillary Clinton and John McCain or their campaigns are entirely innocent in this area either. Or even that Obama is the worst offender." "Still."

But I just CAN'T write about McCain's lies. He invites us to barbecues. My corporate-media boss says don't criticize him, so here's another shallow column about our opponents - I mean McCain's, McCain's!

*I removed the link to the BBC, in case that is why you won't post this comment.

Wow. How trivial can you get?

Well, the master of trivia, Justin Webb, North American Editor for the BBC, LINKED this "life-threatening" story on his BBC website blog. Check out the April 3 entry as well. What strikes you?

I tell my European friends about Santa Cruz, CA, which has a "public" smoking ban ... no smoking on the sidewalk, parks, middle of the street. Is this still true? Was it ever true?

Being from Boulder, CO, I believed it. Plenty of granola-fascists in the new L.A., Colorado's front range. Smoking on the street one day, a woman approached me, shaking her head and waggling her finger. "Shame!" she said. I checked my clothes to make sure I wasn't wearing any fur (not than I own any, but I thought "Shame!" was PETA's). I was confused ... until I noticed her spinning eyes fixing a bead the tiny bit of hellfire in my hand. Where there's smoke, there's a devil.

The woman informed me it was ILLEGAL to smoke in Boulder -- even outside on the street. I told her it was not (it isn't -- yet), moved away from her and thought GEEEZ. Boulder's becoming Santa Cruz.

How precious can we get? Sure, I wish I'd never started (which, by the way, was what Obama advised) but all the same, when did lighting a cigarette become an occasion for a Citizen Arrest? Worse yet ... an indicator of a hopelessly weak character? This is silly. We all have addictions. My sisters can't live without SSRIs. I prefer tobacco. I've loved and trusted many smokers, my mother among them. She lived to 78.

I'm curious. How does dissembling compare to smoking? Is there a 12-step program for compulsive cover-uppers? Compulsive exaggerators? Compulsive missionaries?

To Geevil, and all others who have complained about trivial reporting: Bravo!

Should we be wondering about the editors as well? The bosses who send these guys out to "smoke out" and promote ... distractions?

Whatever happened to the good old-fashioned NEWS DESK?

I am so tired of being talked down to ... by the President, by the Vice-President, by the Fourth Estate.

To the Editors: We are begging for more. We promise we'll read, listen and contribute what we can. But please ... if there is no dirt for the day, why not use the space to present issues?

I suppose the days of a professional press are over. Along with the Executive branch murdering habeas corpus, the loss of an intelligent press corp is the final nail in the coffin of Emerson's America.