As you bloggers have noted, another chink in the armor of possible presidential contender Barak Obama is that he smokes. The way American society has come to demonize cigarettes, this might bother some voters as evidence of a flawed character. Or does it enhance the Illinois Democratic senator’s appeal, in the same way that Hollywood still depicts smokers as interesting and glamorous?
Posted by Rhonda Holman
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38 Comments
Flawed character? ’sup with that? Is the same true with other vices, like food (fat people), drugs (homeless people), drink (Irish people). Smokers may regret that they started, but flawed character?
Hillary’s minions are hard at work these days.
When a person is in the public eye, everything is judged. Is the fact that Mr. Obama used drugs as a youngster and is smoking now evidence of poor judgment or a lack of personal discipline? How does that affect your impression of him as a possible president?
You be the judge.
An important indicator of flawed character is the spewing of unfounded stereotypes.
What a joke. Is this what politics has sunk to? So he smokes. Bill Clinton had a passion for Big Macs. Whoopie shit.
If he’s not chasing young page boys or horny interns nobody cares.But let him do the ‘Dean cheer’ and he’s sunk!
If he wants to smoke let him smoke. Just not in my house or in a designated no-smoking area.
Q.What do you call 47 millionaires around a TV watching the Super Bowl?A.The Kansas City Chiefs.
Q.What do the Kansas City Chiefs and Billy Graham have in common?A.They both can make 70,000 people stand up and yell “Jesus Christ”.
Q.How do you keep a Kansas City Chief out of your yard?A.Put up goal posts.
Q.Where do you go in Kansas City in case of a tornado?A.To Arrowhead-they never get a touchdown there!
Q.What do you call a Kansas City Chief with a Super Bowl ring?A.A thief.
Q.Why was Herm Edwards upset when the Kansas City Chiefs play book wasstolen?A.Because he hadn’t finished coloring it.
Q.What’s the difference between the Kansas City Chiefs and a dollar bill?A.You can still get four quarters out of a dollar bill.
Q.How many Kansas City Chiefs does it take to win a Super Bowl?A.Nobody knows and we will never find out.
Q.What do the Kansas City Chiefs and possums have in common?A.Both play dead at home(and get killed on the road).
It is absurd to count him out simply because he smokes. Everyone has their ‘thing’, and type A personalities tend to do more risky behaviors, and they also make good businessmen.
But it does say a lot about how demonized smokers have become, now doesn’t it?
KC does not need a new coach; they need a new team doctor: Jack Kavorkian.
What this speaks VOLUMES about is the fear of Obama. If they are lowered to nit picking his habits and the drugs he did in HIGH SCHOOL? They are reaching if you ask me. And it seems to be BOTH SIDES of the fence reaching.
No worries. I would lay big money that he is picked up as a Vice Presidential candidate. He will win too as long as it isn’tHillary and if it is Edwards, Edwards keeps his foot out of his mouth.
Not sure Sol … if Vilsack gets the top spot would he go with another midwesterner? Or go for someone from the south or a coast?
hmmm, wondering if the traditonal “regional balance” is still a consideration? Think that Clinton/Gore showed it really isn’t necessary; don’t quite know how to characterize Bush/Cheney, but at least facially, not a “balanced” ticket, either.
We’ll see. I think he has a lot of momentum already (Obama) and if you will, the ‘novelty’ that he would be the first black VP. Didn’t work for Mondale/Ferraro(sp?) but that is another dozen eggs all together.
Good points both. I remember with Ferraro that I had never heard of her – she really had no track record. Obama is very new but he is well known. And, in today’s 24/7 world time moves much faster.
It is both amusing and disgusting to see guilt ridden Whites fawn over this abominable media creation.
January 02, 2007
White Guilt, Obamania, And The Reality Of RaceBy Steve Sailer
Race is so important in American politics that it has even propelled a Chicago politician less than two years removed from the corruption-plagued Illinois state senate into the limelight of the upcoming Presidential race.
Yet we still aren’t supposed to engage in honest public discussion about it….http://www.vdare.com/sailer/070102_obamania.htm
Viva La Raza Blanco!!
Didnt we already beat this to death on another thread?
Slow news day?
Guess any member of the U.S. House will need to go farther from the house floor for their smoke. From today’s Boston Globe:
Pelosi bans smoking near House floor
January 10, 2007
WASHINGTON –New House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is snuffing out one of Congress’ enduring prerogatives, still cherished by some lawmakers — the right to smoke near the floor of the House.Article Tools
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Pelosi, D-Calif., announced Wednesday that effective immediately, House members would no longer be able to light up in the ornate Speaker’s Lobby off the House floor where lawmakers mingle during votes.
The room is often hazy with smoke, as it was Tuesday night as the House voted on anti-terror legislation; Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, often has cigarette in hand, for example.
“The days of smoke-filled rooms in the United States Capitol are over,” Pelosi said. “Medical science has unquestionably established the dangerous effects of secondhand smoke, including an increased risk of cancer and respiratory diseases. I am a firm believer that Congress should lead by example.”
Smoke-filled rooms won’t be gone entirely — lawmakers will still be allowed to smoke in their own offices.
Smoking is banned in most federal buildings, and the District of Columbia recently banned smoking in public areas, as has Pelosi’s home district of San Francisco and a number of other cities.
(off thread topic but…)
Tracy,
I gave up on the Chiefs years ago. A brilliant season for them proves nothing. Get them to the playoffs, and they’ll blow it every time.
Pitiful.
It is utterly stupid to judge a person’s character (or education or intelligence) because he/she smokes.
Just talked to a friend of mine the other day whose hubby is a retired neurosurgeon. She said to tell you all that he was very successful in his career and has smoked for 40 years.
Juvenile.
This is a lame issue and one can only assume Holman is trying to soften-up a despized character flaw is someone she may end up supporting (because he’s a democrat, of course).
This is appearance trumping substance. What’s next: will America support O’Bama because he has BIG ears?
A greater concern is the extent of O’Bama crack habit a decade ago–not as a “youngster” any an earlier apologist tried to white-wash. How bad was his habit, how and when did he kick the pipe?
Maybe later Holman and the adoring press will address the shady land deal and ask hard questions about terrorism, illegal immigration, Iran, Syria, Israel, etc.
No, let’s focus on his image.
Obama’a occasional light-up’s a real piker next to our current Chief exec’s propensity to drop large quantities of high explosives on top of innocent people who happen to be in his political and financial way.If Obama’s serious about this presidency thing, he needs to acquire some real vices, and I don’t mean shagging the odd intern.
Roscoe,Do you have a link to the story about his crack habit? Not calling you out, I’d just be curious to read it.
Prediction:
Obama will show off his Nicotine patch during the Presidential Primaries. heh
What people notice is not that he’s a smoker but that he’s SMOKING!
Personally, I would much rather have a candidate that admitted drug use like Obama, than to have one that tries to pretend that he was a choirboy that only occasionally had a few too many.
Does anyone know why GWB did community service is Houston in the early seventies? No one can know for sure since Bush will not release his records.
As for Obama’s smoking – I am sure that he will quit long before the primaries.
Obama/Clark ‘08
Barack Obama was already a man with no substance before we found out he is addicted to cancer sticks. Now we know he is in bed with the filthiest, nastiest habit one can ever pick up. What message are we sending to the youth of America if we elect a man who has known all of his life that smoking causes cancer not only for the smoker, but for everyone around the smoker? And from what I understand, his wife has a big position with the University of Illinois medical center. I can’t believe his wife would stand by him for that. Sick, really sick.
Roscoe posted this morning that Obama had a crack habit. Does anyone else have data on this or is it a red herring?
Sol, Obama wrote in his first book that he had used marijuana and cocaine in his youth.
I have not read the book to know the actual deatails.
And apparently Roscoe doesn’t understand that there is a difference between cocaine and crack (free-based)
Yeah, my Dad is reading it and I am getting some of the content thru him. I have no issues with some High School fun, but what Roscoe wrote was that he had a crack habit in the not so distant past. First I’d heard of it. Wanted clarification.
And apparently Roscoe doesn’t understand that there is a difference between cocaine and crack (free-based)
“In the book, Obama acknowledges that he used cocaine as a high school student but rejected heroin. “Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it. Not smack, though,” he says.”
Obama said that he used powder cocaine when in High School, significantly different than using crack (rock cocaine) ten years ago.
From all this mud slinging, I must say there are alot of people who have the smell of fear on them – on both sides.
Any candidate, be they Republican or Democratic, can do no worse than the current occupant of the WhiteHouse. Obama would be a vast improvement.
Read Woodward’s book, _State of Denial_. Not even GW Bush’s mother ever thought he should be president.
If your mother doesn’t have confidence in you, who else should, is what I want to know?
The sooner GW Bush is out = the better/sooner our country has dealt with its number one problem.
Right is right and crow is crow: I was factually wrong in the earlier post about Mr. Obama and personally apologize to him and the other posters for the mistake.
WE: Please remove my earlier post.
Outstanding Roscoe. Bully for you !!!!
Smokers are losers in my view. It is as simple as that. Just because their drug of choice is legal doesn’t make it any different for me. I think they are filthy and disgusting people. At least Heroin addicts don’t pollute everybody else’s air with their habit. And I would never vote for one for office unless the only other choice was a Republican which is even more filthy and disgusting!