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Should Obama Get A Pass For Smoking?

Should Obama Get A Pass For Smoking?

Submitted by politicalWinters on Thu, 11/20/2008 - 11:17am.

  Barack Obama smoked for most of his adult life. He promised his wife he'd quit when he decided to run for president.

  Yet has he? The answer is ambiguous at best, as Time columnist Michael Kinsley points out in this op-ed piece.

  But Kinsley also suggests we should give Obama a pass on this one - that his other attributes outweigh this deadly habit.

  Quote: 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.

  What do you think? Should we just "look the other way" or is this a bigger issue?

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