Obama Smokes

[Chip]

Is anyone bothered by the fact that President-elect Barrack Obama smokes cigarettes?

If so, why?

If not, why not?

 

[Pandora]

His smoking is not a big deal, but it kind of bothers me that he has said he quit till he was caught smoking then gave another story.

I would have said I will try to quit or Im working on it but during the primary isn't a good time to quit or something.

Some reporter told him that he could not smoke at the White House and he agreed not to but thats silly he can if he wants.

 

[Andy]

His smoking is not a big deal, but it kind of bothers me that he has said he quit till he was caught smoking then gave another story.

I would have said I will try to quit or Im working on it but during the primary isn't a good time to quit or something.

Some reporter told him that he could not smoke at the White House and he agreed not to but thats silly he can if he wants.

Integrity? From the Messiah? Your expectations are too high.

 

[Pandora]

Integrity? From the Messiah? Your expectations are too high.

Doesn't it seem dumb though to lie about it? He had the best excuse anyone could have to put off quiting. The primary and election in general would have to be the highest stress he ever had, anyone would understand him waiting to quit.

I think he should keep smoking because being president is even more stressfull than running for president

 

[Pidgey]

"Lawyers"... "Liars"...

When you say 'em both down heah' in The South, don't soun' lah'k theah's much difference...

 

[pocketfullofshells]

Is anyone bothered by the fact that President-elect Barrack Obama smokes cigarettes?

If so, why?

If not, why not?

one he is trying to quit
2, umm so what?
3. who cares?
4. why should I care?

 

[Bunz]

I smoke, and do so mostly to pay even more of my fair share through increased taxes on them Same reason I drink beer

 

[Mr. Shaman]

Is anyone bothered by the fact that President-elect Barrack Obama smokes cigarettes?

If so, why?

If not, why not?

No one seems-to-have-been all that concerned over having a burnt-out alcoholic, in the Oval Office.....and, you're worried about smoking-issues, huh? ​

Sept. 24, 2002​

"Whether George W. Bush is or was an alcoholic is not the point here. I am taking him at his word that he stopped what he termed "heavy drinking" in 1986, at age 40. The point here is that, based on Bush's recent behavior, he could very well be a "dry drunk." Of course, he may just be an immature bully who will gladly sacrifice thousands of lives to get his way even against the advice of the most respected and mature members of his own party.

Bush said he was a "heavy drinker." But let's not be coy here. Anyone who has ever imbibed heavily over a long period of time knows that "heavy drinker" is the rich man's (or the politician's) code for alcoholic.

Furthermore, why is Bush so eager to engage in violence and so incapable of explaining why?

But we can't look away. George W. Bush needs an intervention. Let's be his interveners. Let's raise our sober voices. Let's ask questions, demand more than temper tantrums and pouting from the Commander in Chief. Let's do this before it's too late and a dry drunk's dream of glory becomes our national nightmare."

 

[TruthAboveAll]

Being an ex-smoker myself, I've got to say that it doesn't bother me. At the same time, I certainly wish that he didn't. It's an incredibly crappy example for him to set, and gives substance to other nicotine addicts defense that they just can't quit and/or stay quit.

My late Mother used to say, "Don't quit quitting" every time I tried and fell off the wagon. I've now been nicotine-free for three years. I know the addiction, and I know how hard it can be to beat.

I also believe that anyone who wants to can find a way. My final impetus was when I finally FULLY understood and accepted that it was an addiction, and to acknowledge the fact that ANY addiction is a form of slavery. I chose to no longer be controlled by something that was at the worst killing me, and at the best was a stinky, dirty, wasteful practice.

Having beat this, I recognize that my failure to do so for years was in essence a character flaw. A weakness. I'm no where near perfect, but I am a smidgen closer than before.

I hope for PEBO to realize the same.

 

[VicSmith]

Well, it's Obama's choice if he wants to continue smoking or not, but he would definitely be setting a bad example. Harding, Johnson, and FDR were all presidents who smoked, and Taft and Eisenhower quit before inauguration. If he wants to set a bad example, then so be it. It's his decision to make, not ours.

 

[foggedinn]

I wonder if Michelle will make him go outside to smoke when they move into the WH.

 

[Chip]

I guess one of the things that bothers me about Obama's smoking is that I didn't find out about it until after the election, not that it would have mattered, as I intended in acquiescence to vote for Ron Paul a number of months prior.

But I do pay attention to the news, and I do read the internet news and, though I don't watch much television, every morning I do read a major metropolitan newspaper (no, not the Daily Planet) ...

... And I would have thought there would have been more about Obama's smoking in this day and age of health.

But there wasn't.

So I'm wondering if his smoking was intentionally hid from the populace at large ... and by whom.

Yes, GWB exhibited addict traits, and I suppose he could be a dry-drunk alcoholic, reason enough not to have voted for him.

Each type of addiction has an associated unique set of precursors.

Obama's smoking concerns me, not only with regard to his physical health (who wants their President to die in office from cancer?!), but because of the neuropathology precursor to smoking.

Nicotine is a primary agonist (stimulator) of the neurotransmitter (chemicals that conduct brain activity) acetylcholine.

When acetylcholine transmission is low, the person suffering that brain chemical imbalance can experience its psycho-spiritual symptom: depression.

Indeed, those who have discovered that smoking relieves what are the sysmptoms of low-acetylcholine depression are coping with their depression via nicotine infusion from cigarettes/cigars.

Though there are better ways of dealing with depression (psychotherapy, more sophisticated, effective and safe pharmaceuticals), and despite the serious blood vessel damage that occurs from prolonged intake of nicotine, the main concern I have about Obama's smoking is that it reveals that he suffers from depression.

I noticed something about him in that regard during his debate presentations and his presentation on the evening he won the election.

My skills as a competent mental health practitioner were suddenly being activated as I saw him reflect a general subdued demeanor that was incongruent to his circumstances.

Something wasn't "right" ... but, not knowing his history, I couldn't tell exactly what ... and I just stored it away, not thinking any more of it.

Now, now that I've learned he smokes, I realize there was more to his subdued demeanor: depression.

I'm concerned about having a President who is depressed.

Depressed people usually don't make good judgements on a number of matters ... and the matters facing the President can be highly critical.

Even if he quits smoking, his depression won't, of course, thereby abate.

It will then be even more unmasked.

Depression often orients from unresolved family-of-origin issues and usually takes time in psychothereapy and sometimes with medicinal assistance to alleviate its symptoms ... and longer to actually cure the depression.

Yes, GWB made some very poor judgements as a dry drunk.

But Obama will also make very poor judgements as a depression sufferer.

What appears to be the general public cover-up of his smoking was likely done for these reasons his handlers knew full well would hurt him at the polls if his smoking knowledge and its underlying depression became public awareness.

 

[Pandora]

I guess one of the things that bothers me about Obama's smoking is that I didn't find out about it until after the election, not that it would have mattered, as I intended in acquiescence to vote for Ron Paul a number of months prior.

But I do pay attention to the news, and I do read the internet news and, though I don't watch much television, every morning I do read a major metropolitan newspaper (no, not the Daily Planet) ...

... And I would have thought there would have been more about Obama's smoking in this day and age of health.

But there wasn't.

So I'm wondering if his smoking was intentionally hid from the populace at large ... and by whom.

Yes, GWB exhibited addict traits, and I suppose he could be a dry-drunk alcoholic, reason enough not to have voted for him.

Each type of addiction has an associated unique set of precursors.

Obama's smoking concerns me, not only with regard to his physical health (who wants their President to die in office from cancer?!), but because of the neuropathology precursor to smoking.

Nicotine is a primary agonist (stimulator) of the neurotransmitter (chemicals that conduct brain activity) acetylcholine.

When acetylcholine transmission is low, the person suffering that brain chemical imbalance can experience its psycho-spiritual symptom: depression.

Indeed, those who have discovered that smoking relieves what are the sysmptoms of low-acetylcholine depression are coping with their depression via nicotine infusion from cigarettes/cigars.

Though there are better ways of dealing with depression (psychotherapy, more sophisticated, effective and safe pharmaceuticals), and despite the serious blood vessel damage that occurs from prolonged intake of nicotine, the main concern I have about Obama's smoking is that it reveals that he suffers from depression.

I noticed something about him in that regard during his debate presentations and his presentation on the evening he won the election.

My skills as a competent mental health practitioner were suddenly being activated as I saw him reflect a general subdued demeanor that was incongruent to his circumstances.

Something wasn't "right" ... but, not knowing his history, I couldn't tell exactly what ... and I just stored it away, not thinking any more of it.

Now, now that I've learned he smokes, I realize there was more to his subdued demeanor: depression.

I'm concerned about having a President who is depressed.

Depressed people usually don't make good judgements on a number of matters ... and the matters facing the President can be highly critical.

Even if he quits smoking, his depression won't, of course, thereby abate.

It will then be even more unmasked.

Depression often orients from unresolved family-of-origin issues and usually takes time in psychothereapy and sometimes with medicinal assistance to alleviate its symptoms ... and longer to actually cure the depression.

Yes, GWB made some very poor judgements as a dry drunk.

But Obama will also make very poor judgements as a depression sufferer.

What appears to be the general public cover-up of his smoking was likely done for these reasons his handlers knew full well would hurt him at the polls if his smoking knowledge and its underlying depression became public awareness.

The fact he was a smoker was on the news, I think all the news channels and a picture of him with a smoke hanging out of his mouth. even some older video footage of him smoking and playing cards.

when asked he said he had quit. but he got caught smoking mid primary and was asked again and he said he backslid. Then it came out that he had not quit at all.

the only thing that bothers me is that he lied and no one seems to care about that. Smoke, dont smoke what ever but it seems even obama followers would say I wish he had not lied about it, but none of them seem to care.....thats the only thing that bothers me.

 

[Mr. Shaman]

But I do pay attention to the news, and I do read the internet news and, though I don't watch much television, every morning I do read a major metropolitan newspaper (no, not the Daily Planet) ...

What appears to be the general public cover-up of his smoking....

.....Only appears to be a cover-up on your part. ​

"Fox News host John Gibson claimed that Sen. Barack Obama's "dirty little secret" is that he is a cigarette smoker, despite the fact that Obama's cigarette use was, in fact, known during his 2004 Senate campaign."​

 

[Chip]

The fact he was a smoker was on the news, I think all the news channels and a picture of him with a smoke hanging out of his mouth. even some older video footage of him smoking and playing cards.

I guess that's the problem I suffer from not being a TV watcher ... and I don't watch You Tube videos either.

Too bad my newspaper didn't present me with anything on the matter. But, then again, why would it: it's a major metropolitan newspaper ... and those kind of papers tend to pander to liberals, who are usually the majority subscribers in big cities ... so it doesn't surprise me that this medium might have deliberately withheld Obama smoking stories as "not newsworthy".

when asked he said he had quit. but he got caught smoking mid primary and was asked again and he said he backslid. Then it came out that he had not quit at all.

Nicotine is one of the most difficult addictions from which to recover.

It does not surprise me if he experienced difficulty in quiting, especially during the high-stress of campaigning.

the only thing that bothers me is that he lied and no one seems to care about that. Smoke, dont smoke what ever but it seems even obama followers would say I wish he had not lied about it, but none of them seem to care.....thats the only thing that bothers me.

Depressed people will lie about their depression and its associated behaviors if they deem that the public penalties for suffering from depression will be too adverse.

Though we're still a bit old fashion about how we treat people who suffer from psychological maladies, I don't believe it is unjustified to consider a Presidential candidate's depression when casting a vote.