Michael Kinsley says that if Barack Obama wants to bum a cigarette or two over the next four years, we should let him:
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.
Or, as Lincoln is rumored to have said in response to reports that Ulysses Grant was a drinker:
Find out what Grant drinks and send a barrel of it to each of my other generals!
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.
November 22nd, 2008 at 6:58 am
I don’t remember Bartlet doing that but could be wrong. Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan once he became President would bum cigarettes off his secretary or whoever was convenient.
Honestly- I don’t care if Obama smokes or not. It’s his body to poison.
Bill
November 22nd, 2008 at 7:04 am
During the first season, there was a story line about Bartlett bumming a cigarette off a reporter and, in later seasons, they’d show him smoking in the area outside the Oval Office — even after the MS story line.
Personally, if Obama smokes its his business. Churchill walked around under a semi-permanent buzz and smoked cigars and he did just fine.
November 22nd, 2008 at 7:17 am
[...] at Below the Beltway writes- In the long run, whether or not Obama smokes every now and then isn’t that big a [...]