Obama's Smoking Questioned By Reporter, Again

The arc of the Washington press corps is long. But let's face it, it bends toward occasionally asking some stupid questions. Like about Alex Rodriguez. And about stuff that "humbles" and "enchants" President Barack Obama about being the President, and living in a "white" "house" with an "oval" "office" and Joe Biden. And today, the prize for "Are You Really Going To Use Your One Chance To Ask The President A Question On THAT Topic" goes to McClatchy Newspapers, for this exchange:

MCCLATCHY: Thank you, Mr. President. As a former smoker, I understand the frustration and the fear that comes with quitting, but with the new law that you signed yesterday regulating the tobacco industry, I would like to ask you a few questions, how many cigarettes a day --

OBAMA: A few questions?

MCCLATCHY: Well -- how many cigarettes a day do you smoke? Do you smoke alone or in the presence of other people? And do you believe the new law would help you to quit and why?

First of all, I love the "as a former smoker" construction of the question. "You know, we are just two ex-smokers talking here, Mr. President!" UHM, NO! Raise your hand if you are a former smoker who often finds himself jonesing for a cigarette on those stressful occasions where say, the economy might collapse, or North Korea might point a missile at Hawaii, or a dangerous regime goes TOTAL WIGFLIP BALLKNOCKERS with unrest because of an illegitimate election -- on your watch? Sort of not the same league.

Anyway, I think Obama more or less decodes this correctly, as not being something that has anything to do with the new tobacco law:

OBAMA: Well, first of all the new law that was put in place is not about me, it's about the next generation of kids coming up. So I think it's fair, Margaret, to just say that you just think it's neat to ask me about my smoking as opposed to if -- being relevant to my new law. But that's fine. I understand. It's an interesting human interest story. Look. I've said before that as a former smoker, I constantly struggle with it. Have I fallen off the wagon sometimes? Yes. Am I a daily smoker, a constant smoker? No. I don't do it in front of my kids. I don't do it in front of my family. You know, I would say that I am 95 percent cured, but there are times where -- there are times when I mess up. And I've said this before. I get this question about once every month or so. And I don't know what to tell you other than the fact that, you know, like folks who go to AA, you know, once you've gone down this path, then it's something you continually struggle with. Which is precisely why the legislation we signed was so important. Because what we don't want is kids going down that path in the first place. Okay?

From the standpoint of extemporaneous speaking, that's a pretty good job of bending this exchange back to something more substantive. But it doesn't explain why the press continues to obsess with Obama's smoking. I get that it likely has to do with serving as a role model. If Obama smokes, won't everybody? Won't it be totally cool to smoke because Obama is totally cool and now doesn't everybody want to hang out with Larry Summers and smoke cigarettes and eat Dijon mustard? I have to imagine that if I were to ask this reporter why she felt the question was important, I'd likely get some version of this "role model" song and dance.

Nevertheless, let's hesitate before we rely on reporters to suss out good role models for the nation. A month ago, former Vice President Dick Cheney was presented as Obama's equal, in a "great debate" about national security. This is a man who is proud to have ordered the torture of other human beings. So, maybe everyone who thinks it'd be "neat" to ask about Obama's smoking should drop the pretense of gravitas. The way I see it, the White House Press Corps, if they've an eye toward being fair, should heretofore refer to smoking as "enhanced breathing" or "harsh inhalations." Really, it's the least they can do.

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Comments

[poaster]

To Barack Obama...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjCzmsW8Qq4&feature=related

[Sean Hurley]

I think it's really interesting how tobacco and alcohol are viewed separately society. How does this compare to Bush's drinking? Does the fact that we love to demonize the tobacco industry help Obama? You can't really say that the booze industry gets the same kind of flack...

There's an article on this over at economixt - http://www.economixt.com/2009/06/obamas-smoking-vs-bushs-drinking

[Mojo09]

Its a safe bet that if you said in your resume that you are a smoker or, smoked in your job interview, 99.9% of the time you will NOT get the job... so how come the most important job in the land is occupied by a smoker? Obama lied on his cv? Its as pointless defending him as it is hounding him about it.. he just has to stop it.

[cheshyre c]

and in what job interview have you ever smoked, drank, or a snorted a line of - insert drug of choice here -? i also imagine that if one were to eat a sandwich or kick of their shoes in the middle of an interview they would not get the job?

are you following how your argument is flawed?

and who says he has to stop? i could truly care less what my elected officials do in their off time so long as they properly represent me during their 9 to 5.

[imjustawitchywoman]

So.

On occassion our President smokes.

He picked up the habit and can't totally quit.

Just like millions of other people.

OMG.

He IS Human!

Leave the guy alone.

Aren't there more important questions that need to be asked then about his smoking?

[CR46]

I wonder why no one cared that Laura Bush smoked for 8 yrs as FL. This is just more GOP "mustard", I bet if the USA quit subsidizing tobacco in the souhthern states, the same reporters would be on the President about that. I am a non-smoker but really could care less if Pres. Obama smokes or not, but I do wish him the best luck to kick a habit he is trying to kick. It took my husband over 3 yrs to quit twenty yrs ago and I watched him fight with it daily.

[Rondo]

"Leave the kid alone."

[Nomccain]

The news media has reached a point beyond absurd. They meddle, they probe, they harrass, they twist, and they lie. Franklin Roosevelt flaunted his smoking and Richard Nixon was a lush before he left office, John Kennedy was a notorious womanizer, but none of this was EXPOSED while President and besides, it was none of anybody's business. These men are human just like the rest of us (or most of us) and need what little space and privacy they can garner. How dare this idiot ask such a question!!! Today's news media has no ethics, no honesty, and no pride when it comes to making or reporting the news. Our right to free speech is being trampled upon this day and time and it's become a disgrace how some idiots act. I wish he'd told her to mind her own business.

[Tuckerndfw]

Never mind the president, these fanatics, and they are fanatical, consider it their business what EVERYONE does.

I cannot believe that the American people support these fanatics.

Their lies & statistics do not comport with observable facts.

If tobacco was the killer these fanatics pretend it is, the US could have never fought the revolutionary war, the civil war or any other wars.

Everyone would have been too sick from smoking or "second hand smoke" to do anything.

These fanatics are no different than any other group of fanatics.

No lie too great to tell to further the agenda. And, it is an agenda.

[darleneslee]

I don't agree with anyone smoking, but it is a personal choice and decision. We need to also get on the alcohol debate and see how well that works with the bourbon set. How about tolerance of anyone working to overcome bad habits, don't we all have some ?

[Tuckerndfw]

I'm a smoker and agree with you about it being a choice. And, no one else's business.

If we are going to tax harmful behavior, we need to tax everything we do.

Tobacco is currently being taxed at about 150% of product price.

We need to apply the same rate to all harmful activities.

Cars should be taxed at 150% of market value or sales price, whichever is higher. A $10k car would cost $25k with tax added.

Gasoline would be about $7 a gallon on average.

A $2 hamburger would cost $5 with tax added.

Everything we do is harmful so the door is wide open for taxing people based on harmful activities.

Time to have equal taxation for equal representation.

[dillydawg]

Time for you to try and end your smoking habit and stop making lame comparisons and excuses for your weak behavior.

[CaveatLector]

What a ridiculous post. There is NO safe level of use for tobacco. Smoking accounts for over 1/2 of all illnesses in the U.S. alone. And you bet it's our business...your filthy habit makes you sick, which in turn, raises MY health insurance premiums.

[mrgenius99]

I find those all to be very reasonable ideas. Perhaps we can use that hamburger tax to offset all of the diabetes cases we will have in 20 years from all of the fat kids who eat those hamburgers (and drink soda, and processed foods).

If people demand health care, medicare, social security, etc, then the government *should* tax harmful activity to pay for it. Why should I pay health care costs for people who decided to exercise their god-given right to destroy their bodies with cigarettes, alcohol, meat or sugar?

And everything we do is *not* harmful. Teaching kids that it's not ok to drink kool-aid or Mountain Dew with every meal or that a McDonald's happy meal is not a well-balanced meal should be part of a parent's DUTY. Those parents who let their kids eat this stuff are abusing them and setting them up for a life of illness. Maybe soda SHOULD be taxed extra so that we can use the money to educate kids that veggies and fruits are better for you than fried 'chicken' nuggets.

[rollingdivision]

It's a matter of hipocrisy. Smoking is a vile, filthy, dangerous habit which steals parents away from their families. Why has the press given up their role as watchdog and skeptic when it comes to Obama and smoking? Where are the pictures of the president smoking?

[A Meat Beetle]

I don't care if he smokes or not. As long as the tobacco industry gets hurt, that's good enough for me. I don't care who does it or how they do it. If it is bad for "M,u,r,d,e,r Inc." that's all that counts.

[dillydawg]

Second that.

[NoMoFearNoMoHate]

Wanting children to grow up and avoid the pitfalls that you fell into growing up is not hypocrisy - it's called caring.

[rollingdivision]

It's just smoking and he can quit any day he decides to quit smoking. Literally 10s of millions of smokers have quit with no more help than their own personal desire to stop. He chooses to continue smoking.

[dillydawg]

Try as you might people like Rollingdivision, simply will not get it. Their minds and hearts are so clouded with hate. There is no reasoning with them.

[dogdiva]

Rollingdevision, precisely what is your hierarchy of concern in the world? It seems like it is most likely self-inflating righteousness above any concerns for the nation or the world. Well you got your wish yesterday. Now do you feel superior? Everything ok with you? Do you mind if the rest of us worry about the things that affect our finances, our health, our security, and our future? We have ALL heard you now....vile, filthy and dangerous. We got it. A president sneaking 3 cigarettes a day equals a threat to our very being.

[rollingdivision]

Lying about smoking, refusing to answer questions about smoking and continuing to smoke indicating great personal weakness are all problems . If Bush were having half a drink a day while in office that would have been acceptable and you wouldn't have thought anyone should have even asked about it?

[Tuckerndfw]

So is chomping down on a Big Mac. When is the press going to go after McD's customers for their "vile, filthy, dangerous" habits?

The media did report President Obama ordering hamburgers but no one seemed to care about that "vile, filthy, dangerous" habit.

[rollingdivision]

Nice try. No comparison.

[canadiansoccermom]

He doesn't smoke in front of his kids because it would not be good for them to see. What makes you think it is a good idea to show him smoking in front of America's kids?

[rollingdivision]

How do you know he doesn't smoke in front of his children? They certainly know he smokes cigarettes.

[dogdiva]

Did someone accuse him of smoking in public in front of adults or American kids?

[EJ2968]

I love Obama and because of that I want him to quit smoking completely. I understand he's trying to stop, but he needs to make a bigger committment to it. It needs to be a priority in his life. His mother died of CANCER for Christ's sake! He needs to quit for himself, for his family, and for this country!

[NoMoFearNoMoHate]

yeah, I do too, but you certainly don't get the feeling that the press corps members asking these question actually care, do you?

[mcamp52]

How petty and unimportant. The guy used to smoke and now he is quitting. That's good. Enough said. Leave it alone and move on. Good luck Mr. President, I'm behind you all the way.

[confidance government]

I don't like the legislation he introduced as it effectively further cartelizes the cigarette industry in the US, and seeks to supress the manufacture of e-cigarettes, which are definitely less risky than Malbaro Reds, (not harmless, just less dangerous). Not to mention the continued pathetic mewlings of "Its for the children." No, its for the tax revenue.

However, I could really care less if he smokes; he// Obama is proof that you can smoke grass in college and enjoy the ocassional cigarette and still contribute to society.

[NoMoFearNoMoHate]

proof!? more like the exception to the rule.

[LauraD]

Wow if you had any idea how many professionals that you see and interact with every single day used to, and even still do, smoke grass, you'd understand how pathetically stupid that statement was.

[rollingdivision]

No loving parent with young children would continue to smoke.

[Tuckerndfw]

No loving parent with young children would drive a car or allow the child to be around a car.

Micro particles from cars (buses, trucks, etc.) are killing them.

[mrmxyzptlk]

That's a ridiculous argument.

[DaleR]

Says who? You? I think this is one of the dumbest posts I've seen on any message board. Ever.

[rollingdivision]

So you're fine with parents shortening their lives, setting a terrible example and exposing their children to the toxic chemicals? Bet if they had caught Bush having a drink you would had thought that was a big huge deal.

[A Meat Beetle]

If Obama quit smoking you guys would find a way to criticize him for that. You guys don't care one way or the other about issues. It's all about attacking the president and nothing else. If there is no controversy, you people will invent one (e.g. dijon). Substance be d@mned. If he does something, attack. If he doesn't do anything, attack. If you're not sure, make something up (a la S,a,v,a,g,e, B,e,c,k, et al) and attack.

[rsprags]

God either laugh or cry when he hear self righteous folks like you standing on your moral high ground looking down on the rest of us humans!

[fishhead]

Oh for goodness sake. Rolling you and I have had some disagreements in the past and here we go again. Seems like every "initiative" that requires tax hikes always lands squarely on us smokers. I know it's for our own good (baloney). Like Cool Hand Luke said - "I wish you'd stop being so good to me boss". As far as smokers being incapable of loving our kids, well Rolling you know where I think you can stick it. As far as smokers costing "society" more because of health costs - complete BS, I'm not buying it. I'll throw down the gauntlet here and tell all you wanna be healthh freaks to shove off and back off - accusing me of not loving my kid is purely pathetic. Get the donut and latte out off your desk before you type, it's annoying and should be taxed to the inth degree.

[ForeverXL]

If they cannot crackdown on Obama because of his policies, then they will find another issue to moan, whine and b.itch about: that he did not entirely gave up smoking.

Only in America.

[eshalom]

foreverxl,

If you've ever been a smoker you'll agree Obama was not especially wise to publicly announce that he was quitting smoking as a presidential candidate, no doubt a prelude to one of the most stressful periods in his life.

I quit smoking about five years ago by completing a comprehensive treatment program with follow up telephone counseling. I had several reasons for quitting: my health; the expense - smokers support the Minn. state govt.; the inconvenience; personal freedom; and the contempt that smokers are subjected to continuously by non-smokers. Since the 1980s, smokers have been the lepers in society. I can tell you that smoking outside at my workplace during a Minn. winter took some of the pleasure out of the habit.

I never once believed Obama when he claimed to have given up the habit during the campaign or since. And you'd better believe that Mr. Cool is sending a message to the public about the acceptability of smoking.

[SameSo]

eshalom, dont compare your obviously weak, dependent nature wtih the Pres.

[speechrock]

How times change. FDR was aided by the press in an attempt to hide his polio by avoiding photographs in his wheelchair. Kennedy's relationship with women and the mob is still not clear. But how many smokes does Obama sneak under the pressure of the Presidency has reached an all time high as an example of how times have changed. Soon we will have statistics on passing gas in the Oval Office.

[rsprags]

You are so right! LOL! HA, HA!