Obama’s Gateway Drug

What’s the deal and all the hype about Barack Obama smoking? Why is this such a big problem to anyone? I can understand the risks smoking can cause to some people, but does that mean we should dictate to our new president what he can and can not do in his own home? Is this “Operation Nanny State?” I never got the memo that smoking cigarettes was against the law! When did that happen? How long have I been asleep?

If smoking is President Elect Obama’s only vice, I’d say he’s doing pretty damn good! Especially since “W” had to quit drinking! There is a big difference between drinking and smoking, don’t you think? Do you think that “W” slipped up and knocked back a few strong ones while he had to make decisions about foreign and domestic policy? Maybe that’s what happened! Maybe President Bush fell off the wagon for a while, and in a drunken stupor wrote the “Bush Doctrine,” and when he woke up from his blackout, said “I did what?”

So what is everyone afraid of? Are cigarettes the new presidential “gateway drug?” If he starts smoking again, is he just a short step or two from purchasing a bong, hanging out in the Oval Office with Rahm Emanuel while watching “Harold and Kumar; Escape from Guantanamo Bay” to get ideas on how to shut that place shut down? Will he tell Michelle to get him and Rahm some Doritos and pizza and make a late night beer run? And since cigarettes can be a gateway drug, does the next logical step mean Obama would set up a meth lab in his new house and start dealing to the secret service, children and pregnant women? I think people need to get a life! Smoking is not illegal, so why treat him as though it were? Maybe people need something to pick on…especially people who don’t smoke. I was on a few other sites and I read the story about how Obama quit smoking but had a few slip ups, and I was amazed at the people who left comments. One person said, “yeah, he should quit smoking because it’s disgusting to kiss someone that has just smoked a cigarette.” Huh? Was this man planning on kicking up some kind of midnight rendezvous with the new president and his desire was for Obama’s mouth to be “minty fresh?” Others had more heartfelt concerns, such as “I hope he stays healthy and doesn’t start smoking again, for the sake of his family.” That makes sense to me, but it doesn’t mean people should dictate what he does within the dynamics of his family life.

I wonder if people are afraid of the kind of message it sends to the youth of this country. Maybe the fear is that if young people see President Obama is smoking, then that means it’s ok for them to smoke too. Do you think that could be it? Could it be smoking cigarettes would tempt young boys and girls to “light up” and be like their president? Do you think they would feel it was “so cool” they run out and ask an 18 year old to buy them some? Or perhaps go into their parent’s room and steal a couple? (Remember, research suggests that cigarettes are a gateway drug!) And of course that leads children down the dark road of smoking pot, doing crack, tapping the vein for some heroin, and starting their very own meth enterprise from their parent’s basement. If that’s the case, then what shall we say about President Bush? What kind of influence has he had over our children? I can name a few…how about jumping to conclusions about people we don’t know a lot about because they may look and act differently than us. How about rushing to judgement before knowing all the facts, and causing heart ache to those families both here and abroad. What about torturing our enemies, and bending the rules to serve his own purpose? How about not listening to wise council? And does not learning to get along with others have any influence over our children? How about turning a blind eye to the poor and speaking on behalf of the ultra rich? Humm? I’d say this president has influenced our children in a lot of ways, and not for the good. Maybe Obama can do it better…even if he decides to light up again.