Does anyone think Obama is TOAST because of his admission of cocaine use?

[Ninja Jordan]

I was digging him until this news of his 'admission' came out. It seems unwise politically for him. I understand some people use cocaine and what not, but they also don't run for president. Clinton had a small issue with marijuana (in which he claimed he didn't inhale), but cocaine is a harder drug, and Obama actually admitted to trying it/using it. As politicos, we know this is a bullshit issue in substance, but stuff like this kills perception-wise. Sure, there are rumors Bush used coke, but he never admitted and strictly refused to ever talk about it (which ended up being a smart strategy obviously). My question is whether Obama's honesty in this regard will seriously damage his presidential aspirations. Marijuana isn't the same as cocaine.

[villager]

1. it allows us to talk about Bush's cocaine use in the media

the more it's brought up...

[Ninja Jordan]

2. It still hurts Obama, though...

and Bush never admitted to using. In the end its mere speculation, whereas Obama admitted to it. Obama is running against Bush either.

[villager]

31. no -- his candor becomes contrasted to Republican lies

n/t

[cherokeeprogressive]

73. Are you taking into account

the sheer number of people in this country who DO NOT CONSUME COCAINE, who DO NOT DO DRUGS OF ANY KIND SHORT OF ALCOHOL AND NICOTINE unless the good doctor prescribes it, and who do NOT excuse the use/abuse of said substances?

Rant all you want about rethuglican lies. Those people aren't buying.

He's toast. This comes from a person who's done every drug you can think of. I'm not bragging, just predicting.

His presidential aspirations = Toast. With a capital T.

[beaconess]

79. Even people who have never done drugs know people who have and aren't naive

They also know that what someone does in his teens does not necessarily carry with him his entire life.

And those who do continue to live in a complete bubble are probably going to have trouble voting for ANYONE running since just about any candidate has SOMETHING in their past - teenage drug use, adultery, etc. - that means they are not morally pure as the driven snow.

Considering that the last two presidents obviously used drugs in the past (and the current one has not denied using them well into adulthood), I'm not the least bit worried about such people - and they certainly don't reach a critical enough mass that their opposition to a candidate automatically mean that he is "toast with a capital T."

[Ninja Jordan]

87. I don't personally know anyone who's done coke.

Call me naive or whatever. I know people who've tried marijuana though.

[beaconess]

90. Or maybe you don't know anyone who ADMITS to doing it. :-)

Frankly, given the statistics I've seen about drug use in America, I think very few people don't know SOMEBODY who's done it.

[villager]

83. um, I really don't think the number of American teetotalers is all that large

There may be plenty of hypocrites around, however...

[Toots]

118. There is a huge difference between use and try

How many of those people tried cigarettes or alchohol or pot yet do not use any of those things? Don't be obtuse...

[caledesi]

117. How many years ago? Almost 30! Puhleeze....He is honest at

least not like lying *.

[beachmom]

3. No. He admitted it, it's already out there, and he did it in his youth. nt

[karlrschneider]

4. Nobody knows. It will be a big deal to some, nothing at all to others

like me.

[blm]

5. It shouldn't - not if it was minimal. If he was addicted that would be another story.

Cocaine itself is a megalomaniac's drug. I've seen many a prosperous person lose everything to it - careers, families, fortunes.

[KingFlorez]

6. He admitted it, so it's not a problem

[Ninja Jordan]

10. Admitting it doesn't negate its effect. Some people may see it as a character flaw.

[Pepperbelly]

122. some will find character flaws in our nominees regardless ...

of the seriousness of the sin.

[sweetladybug]

7. Where's the link ?

n/t

[liberalpragmatist]

8. No - he hasn't hid it

He's acknowledged it, he's said it was a mistake, it was something he did 30 years ago.

I'm not going to say it's not going to cost him some votes. I'm sure there'll be some people that won't vote for him based on it. But will it make a difference? I doubt it. It would only make a difference if Obama tried to cover it up and let it become a distraction during the campaign.

Honesty sells.

[Warren Stupidity]

9. Get over it.

No he is not toast for being honest. Tens of millions of voting age americans, respectable middle class americans of all sorts, have had very similar experiences with various intoxicants. It is about time politicians started being honest about this. We do not need any more "I did not inhale' equivocating. I've actually warmed up to Obama precisely because of his candor.

[WinkyDink]

111. The innocuous term "intoxicant" doesn't quite square with COCAINE.

I'm a child of the 60's, college in the 70's. We knew then that there were soft and there were hard drugs. I suspect Obama knew, too.

I for one am tired of the "youthful" excuse.

[Ninja Jordan]

116. I agree. Cocaine isn't quite weed is it?

The attempts to brush it off are naive.

[NYCGirl]

11. No. Most running for office these days will be of an age where they most likely

used recreational drugs at one time or another.

[Initech]

12. No, he's toast because the GOP talking asses can smear him simply by changing one letter of his name

[Ninja Jordan]

13. I agree; his name is a problem.

[Initech]

22. There is one way to counter that, though:

"Oh yeah, who cares what you think? You guys are the minority now!"

[ripple]

14. Not at all, in fact I think people will reason that if he admitted to something like that

as a politician, he's a pretty damned honest guy.

Plus, I don't think Obama will really allow the media to dwell on it- after all, it's not some deep dark secret and he describes the circumstances his book. I think he'll answer any questions, but move the conversation along to more pertinent issues. Those who try to make more of it than it is will wind up looking like idiots.

[peacetalksforall]

15. You must be very young. Cocaine was to the 80's as pot was to the 60-70's.

Cocaine was really big in the workplace for many young people - the corporate workplace. It was the fast track to promotions for some.

The attitude was quite different than it is today.

Don't know his circumstances. I'm not defending him or anyone.

But, it's not equitable to judge yesterday with today's paranoia - a paranoia and false prissiness that won't allow pot for medicinal relief of pain. (A prissiness that allows a lot of infidelity and thefts of constitutions).

[Ninja Jordan]

17. I'm relatively young, born in '82.

This just seems like an issue that would hurt him were he the actual presidential nominee. Some midwest places seem pretty conservative about these issues.

[peacetalksforall]

27. The point is this... a lot of people out there ...

tried something on their own or had kids that did - especially in the 60's.

There are a lot of older, ill people in the heartland who may never have tried pot in the 60's, but do use it now for relief or would consider it if legal. Some might even be growing it or the kids might be growing it for them.

Those who holler might be drinking, gambling, lusting, or committing adultery. They were indoctrinated to raise a fuss about 'drug users' starting with the Reagans - they became a voting base for the Reagans.

Those who make a big deal of it are striking out at people they don't like - unless it is their own kid or niece or nephew.

There are probably judges out there passing out mandatory sentences who have tried/used illegal drugs and may be mis-using prescription drugs, like Rush.

The issue of drugs is a political tool. Only a certain factor of people take it up for past decade bashing.

The 90's were perfect for manipulating the drug tool. There was a highly organized war on Clinton. Using drugs and references to hippies really got that factor excited. That 30% will probably not be voting for Obama anyway.

He hasn't told us he was an addict. That's probably going to be a Swiftboater claim if Obama stays in there. Yes, that's a probable, future risk. But, Swiftboaters are already negatively perceived by the people who might vote for Obama. We're getting wise.

If an issue might be ultra hypocritical, it may not survive as an issue (except with people who feed it like Robertson, Falwell, Dobson, etc.)

You might read up on the claims that our own government traffics in drugs.

If the holler is hypocritical depending on who is hollering, wise people will dismiss it.

[illinoisprogressive]

32. I'm from Illinois

southern illinois is the deep south. Everyone knew about it due to his book. no one cared. We have lots of good ol boys around here in the north part of the state and the southern part is super conservative yet they love him.

[Hekate]

35. That is so cool. Hope the rest of the country feels the same way. nt

[mucifer]

51. His book was very popular here in IL BEFORE he got elected to senate

It wasn't a big deal in his campaign the other dems didn't push the issue and alan keyes was his repub opponent... alan keyes. Obama was a shoe in.

[sandnsea]

133. operative word = seem

Meth. Poor man's cocaine. Rural America has just as many drug problems as the cities. People kick their habits and go on to be respected citizens, just like everywhere else. Do Democrats really believe rural America is still like Leave It To Beaver?? Not hardly. They just think the answer to those problems is to PRETEND they're like Leave It To Beaver.

[EC]

16. He didn't plant a seed with it

but I'll bet a lot of Republicans are going to try and plant it....

[beaconess]

55. How can they plant a seed that Obama planted himself years ago?

Obama preempted them big time on this - another indication of how smart he is.

And if they try to make hay out of it, they just leave themselves open to all kinds of questions about THEIR behavior - questions that have always been considered off-limits in the past.

[EC]

75. You're right

I was basically asking about the posting of a question like this in the tone the OP posted to begin with...it seems baiting? Planting a seed?

[Ninja Jordan]

86. More like facing reality.

[jcrew2001]

18. Maybe

It might be a problem.

It is funny that he can be lumped in with Bush's cocaine use - which is an added bonus.

But I think that he can overcome it. First off the baby boomers are from the Hippie generation and if they didn't use drugs, they know many people who did. I think the boomers will be more kind to previous pot users/drug users.

The use of Cocaine is still suspect and a character flaw, but Obama needs to actively prove he has overcome his demons. Bush had to fully embrace the religious right, to prove that he has overcome his drinking/drug problems - and I personally don't believe he has.

Obama needs to prove himself and how he's been sucessful in his 30's and 40's and put distance from what he did in his twenties. We all make mistakes.

He needs to come out strong against drugs and the drug trade. he needs to convince Soccer Moms that he won't be a bad role mode for drug use.

I've always been straight edge and don't advocate drug/acohol use, so I don't mind if a candidate comes out tough on drugs. But I also know a lot of dems/liberals want to see marijuana legalized.

I'm not sure about that because I do believe in a healthy lifestyle and I've seen a lot of kids get deep into drugs and mess up their lives. But I also know people who are successful and occassionally use pot.

Legalziation of pot would also help govt oversight and taxes, etc.

[dogman]

19. My suggestion would be that you read the book.

See the context he used, don't settle for snippets designed to create their own reality. This is something we often demand of each other here at DU.

[Ninja Jordan]

39. Is the entire country going to read his book?

The point isn't whether I've read his book, but how his admission will be played to the masses.

[Imagevision]

67. Obama admitted using cocaine in his first book written 11 years ago...

so it's out there for any one to see.

[dogman]

77. His is a message of hope and redemption.

The public will accept it if presented honestly, IMO. Don't you think this was used against him time and again throughout his political career? It was brought up in his Senate run and he overcame it because he has dealt with it.

[Superman Returns]

20. no

[SaveElmer]

21. Obama shortcircuited the media...because what t hey really love...

Is to catch a politician who doesn't want to be caught. They live for the gotcha moment...a Gary Hart type revelation is the journalistic equivelent of an orgasm...

Obama came clean without any prodding...probably pissed of the media who will now drop the story cause they didn't break it...

[On the Road]

23. "Toast" is Not the Right Word

but it's the first word that comes to mind. Yes, this is a serious political problem and will hurt Obama in the primaries and even more in the general if he wins.

[Heewack]

24. I don't think so.

I think it might actually help him in the long run being able to connect with a large percentage of the populace. As far as the "marijuana is different from coke" comment, what exactly makes them different? They are both illegal substances.

[AlinPA]

25. Yes, media will smash him on that point. R's will use it continuously if he is

the candidate.

[zulchzulu]

26. It's better he admit to it now than have some asswipe come out later...

Unfortunately, I fear that Obama is going to get swiftboated way before his time.

As soon as the media pins you as the frontrunner (especially when it's a year away from primary season), you may as well paint a target on your forehead.

[skipos]

28. Bush boozed and drugged until about age 40, and millions of dipshits still voted for him. nt

[Hekate]

29. Nope. Get it out front now in a matter-of-fact manner, and move on.

edited for typos caused by cold fingers; hope I caught them all

Bill Clinton tried to wiggle around with his "I didn't inhale," and while it didn't seem to actually hurt him he ended up being mocked for it. He still won.

Bush the Lesser said all his past behaviors were "sins" and "youthful indiscretions" that were all washed away by his becoming "born again." Not enough people actually paid attention, but his base sure ate up the story of redemption. He still won.

I don't think Obama's past is a problem for anyone except those who need their politicians to be plaster saints instead of human beings.

What will be a problem is the way Karl Rove and his disciples will use ANYthing at all to besmirch an honorable man or woman. After the Swiftboating episode, you know that even a bona fide war hero is not except from slander. Obama's name, race, family background, life story, church-going habits -- everything will be fodder for Rovian dirty tricks, so expect it.

So I say, get whatever it is out on the table early on, admit to it and move the hell on. That goes for the entire Democratic party, the rank and file and leadership both. Stand by our candidates and watch their backs. Fight hard for them so they don't have to spend all their own time at it.

Hekate

[beaconess]

37. Beautiful!

[Ninja Jordan]

40. "Barack Hussein Osama--black muslim cocaine addict"

We're living in a fantasy world if we don't think this type of attack will be used. It's sad but true.

[fuzzyball]

43. The repugs are holding back on that attack ...prolly till Oct 2008

When all is said and done, Hillary Rodham Clinton
is our best bet to win in 2008.

[beaconess]

48. Oh, yeah - she doesn't have ANYTHING that they will use against her

Face it - every single Democrat (and any Republican who gets in their way) will be attacked viciously with whatever they can find. And if they can't find anything, they'll just make it up.

We can't let that deter us.

[fuzzyball]

85. All repug attacks on the Clinton's have failed

especially true of Hillary.....not 1 shred of attack
against her ever stuck. No wrong doings whatsoever.

[beaconess]

99. True - but that hasn't stopped them from going after her hammer and tong

And so be it. I don't think that does or should impede her in any way.

And I feel the same way about Obama.

I was simply noting the incongruity of insisting that Obama's admission of past drug use will make him "toast" with the electorate and then saying that Hillary is our best candidate. If you believe that the fact that Republicans will use something against a candidate is enough to derail them, Hillary isn't exactly the best alternative since Hillary has been and will continue to be subjected to some of the most vociferous Republicans attacks imaginable.

I like Hillary. I like Obama. I like all of our candidates. And don't think anyone should shy away from their favorite just because they're afraid that Republicans might be mean to them - I would never let the Republican attack machine deter me from supporting my candidate. Why do their work for them?

[fuzzyball]

107. However you must agree with me on one point...

We must nominate the one candidate who will be the most
electable. I will support only those candidates who I
believe have the most electibility.

I am not at all convinced that an admitted cocaine user,
with muslim father, a muslim name, very liberal record on
books at Illinois senate, and half black are grounds for
the BEST electability.

On the contrary Hillary has no known drug use, is a white female,
wife of the most popular democratic president in half a century,
loads of experience in politics and a CENTRIST where the most votes
are.

[Ninja Jordan]

64. Actually, "our best bet" is John Edwards, but that isn't my point

the point is that this issue will be brought up against Obama.

[Hekate]

44. Dems have to stand up for Dems early, often, and loudly-- because there WILL be dirty tricks afoot

You got that right.

Hekate

[beaconess]

47. So what if it IS used?

The only people who will buy that crap are people who wouldn't vote Democratic anyway.

We can't let them dictate to us who we're going to support.

[Ninja Jordan]

65. It could blunt electability.

Not every voter can see through the shit. Many merely get their news from television. Is it smart to nominate a candidate who cann be so easily smeared? It is clearly something to think about it.

[beaconess]

80. I've thought about it and just don't buy that it's a liability

But we'll just have to wait and see, won't we?

[illinoisprogressive]

30. No. the fallout so far has been a collective "so?"

and he's talked about it openly even during his campaign for the senate here. no one cares. The story was hyped along with the bin laden links because somebody was doing some kind of hit thing on him.

[WinkyDink]

113. He's not yet a major candidate, is he?

[philosophie_en_rose]

33. No. Bush admits it. He's not yet toasty.

:shrug:

[Ninja Jordan]

41. He's never admitted it

We all know he probably did it, but because he hasn't admitted it, it never is reported in the media really. Paul Hackett mentioned it and got blasted.

[beaconess]

46. Isn't it interesting that a politician takes more heat for being honest than for lying?

Perhaps Obama's frankness will help to break that cycle. Of course, we have to be a part of that - instead of doing the circular firing squad and wringing our hands about how "they're" going to use it against them, we should back him up and push back on anyone who tries to use it against him.

[philosophie_en_rose]

62. Really? Someone on Fox News said he did.

I thought I read a thread pointing to some Fox News report of Bush's informal disclosures.

In any case, I don't think it will hurt Obama.

[beaconess]

34. Not at all - it has never been a problem in any of his previous races and I don't think it wil hurt

him now.

Besides - people appreciate candor. I think folks have no problem with people who have made mistakes in the past. We are a forgiving people. The problem always comes in when folk try to hide, diminish or rationalize previous mistakes. Obama has done none of that. His straightforwardness about an issue that some think could potentially be politically damaging, in my view, enhances his reputation as a straight shooter whom we can trust to tell us the truth.

It's interesting, though, that some people (even Dems) seem to want to make a bigger deal of the fact that Obama told the truth about doing something few people knew he had done than they do about the fact that Bush has been lying and covering up for decades about something everyone is pretty sure he did do.

Go figure.

But no - I don't think this will hurt Obama at all. It probably will even help him - especially if the media and opponents try to make a production of it - Obama is particularly skillful at political jujitsu and will likely just turn any controversy around to his advantage.

[fuzzyball]

45. A presidential aspirant gets a far bigger anal exam than other offices

If you recall Geraldine Ferraro's husbands mob connections
came to light after she became the VP nominee. Was unknown
before that.

[beaconess]

53. So what?

Im puzzled about why so many DUers are wringing their hands over supposed "weaknesses" in various candidates that they seem to think should disqualify them before they even get out of the gate. What you aren't recognizing is that EVERY SINGLE Democratic candidate - unless they're not human - has something that the other side will use against them. Admitted drug use as a teenager just doesn't measure up as a serious problem, in my book - especially when that person went on to have a stellar career and exemplary personal life that Obama has. I just don't see it as an important issue and don't think most other people will either.

[fuzzyball]

82. I see no weakness in Hillary's candidacy...eom

[beaconess]

100. You don't? Wow - you're a true believer. I think EVERY candidate has weaknesses

even my favorites. I just don't think that their weaknesses should disqualify them.

[fuzzyball]

95. and Hillary has had several anal exams so far and no malignancy

has ever been found to get her in trouble any further.

[monmouth]

36. Absolutely not. Especially since a Fox reporter reminded that

sad group of morons that GW Bush used cocaine and was an alcoholic. They sputtered on that one. Obama was very smart coming out with this trivial information early in the game. No harm done. Guilianni??? Now there's a guy that's toast.

[beaconess]

38. They'd better be think hard about making this an issue

If they make it an issue for Obama, that opens everyone else to the question. Obama answered his question truthfully. Can or will the others? If they answer yes, they further innoculate Obama. If they answer no, a whole lot of people probably won't believe them and God forbid anyone finds something to contradict them.

[truebrit71]

42. Nope. He was open, honest and upfront about it...unlike someone ELSE...

...that did a shitload of coke and lied about it...didn't seem to hinder THAT guy's "electability"...

[fuzzyball]

49. Actually what may hurt Obama more is his

real-estate deal. There was only one article in a Chicago
paper and then it has gone silent. I guess the repugs will
bring it up in sept-oct 2008.

[NYCGirl]

52. It's gone silent because there isn't really very much to it. NT

[fuzzyball]

81. What I recall about Obama's real-estate deal is....

that a property was for sale in Chicago for around $2 million.
The property had a large house and a large yard. Obama made an offer
for the house for $1.35 million and a friend of Obama's made an offer
for the yard for the remaining amount. Obama bought the house for $1.35 M.
The friend is now convicted of financial fraud of some kind not related
to Obama house deal. The yard he purchased remains vacant allowing Obama
to use the entire $2 M property essentially for $1.35 M.

[ieoeja]

96. Then a lot of what you recall is incorrect.

The owner of the property thought he could get more if he split the property. Obama made an offer on the better portion which the owner accepted on the contingency that the owner could find a buyer for the rest since that would be more difficult to sell.

Rezko, who ran in the same political circles, learned of this property and purchased it. Since that time Rezko has been accused of shaking down state contractors for political donations. Even if true nobody has come up with even the appearance of a tie to Obama aside from the fact that they once purchased neighboring property. Each denies knowing the other was buying next to him at the time.

And one of them (I forget which) put up a fence between their properties after the sell. So neither gets the use of the other's property.

Basically, someone accused of politically connected crimes once purchased property that made it possible for Obama to purchase his current home. There is no other known connection between the two.

[blueblitzkrieg]

50. He mades mistakes in his youth. He was honest about it.

I think people will respect that. Americans are forgiving to those that admit mistakes. Bush never admits his mistakes, past or present, Obama's honesty is refreshing in comparison.

[IndianaGreen]

54. He was a teenager. Read Obama's book for context.

Bush was a heavy coke user and he is still in denial.

Here is a review of Obama's book from one of Amazon's customers:

Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance

U.S. Senate hopeful Barack Obama has an inspiring story to share, and yet he doesn't simply rest on his laurels in this critical evaluation of his life and in his continuing search for himself as a black American. He wrote "Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance" almost ten years ago, but his stock has obviously surged since his star-making speech at the Democratic National Convention last month, perhaps to the chagrin of Hillary Clinton...unless she is dreaming of a Clinton-Obama ticket in 2008! Growing up mulatto in Hawaii and Indonesia, Obama discusses trying to come to grips with his racial identity through a period of rebellion that included drug use, becoming a community activist in Chicago and traveling to Kenya to understand his father's past. It is in Kenya where he discovers a nation with 400 different tribes, each of them saddled with stereotypes of the others. It is also in Kenya where he recognizes the dichotomy that has been his lifelong existence between the graves of his father and his grandfather. His description of this defining moment is worthy of a passage in Alex Haley's "Roots".

Obama is also candid about racism, poverty and corruption in Chicago, and he pulls no punches in his account of this period. Because the book stops in 1995, it does not get into much detail on his learning experiences, culminating in both missteps and triumphs, as a state legislator. For all the value the book provides on Obama's history, I would have appreciated a more substantive update than the preface on the last decade, as he gained political prominence in Illinois, so that we understand more why his time in the spotlight has come at this moment. Perhaps that will be Volume 2. I was also disappointed he spent so little time writing about his mother and the influence her side of the family has had on him, a narrative gap Obama acknowledges and over which he expresses regret in the preface. Perhaps inclusion of such details would have made for a less compelling story from his originally intended Afro-centric perspective; but at the same time, I think a more balanced look at his own racial dichotomy would have made his story resonate all the more given where he is now.

Obama is open in the preface about using changed names and composite characters to expedite the flow and ensure privacy of those around him, but it does somewhat lessen the impact of his story when one starts to wonder who was real and who was a fictionalized character. Regardless of these literary devices, this book is still a very worthwhile look into the background of someone who is on a major upward trajectory in the current national political scene.

http://www.amazon.com/Dreams-My-Father-Story-Inheritance/dp/1400082773

[Bullet1987]

56. Not at all...

...First of all, Clinton admitted to dabbling with illegal substances as did Bush. Our last two Presidents have been druggies...why not our next eh?

LOL...all joking aside. No.

[beaconess]

57. What he actually said:

"I blew a few smoke rings remembering those years{his junior and senior years in high school}. Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it. Not smack, though - Micky, my potental initiator, had been just a little too eager for me to go through with that. Said he could do it blindfolded, but he was shaking like a faulty engine when he said it. Maybe he was just cold; we were standing in a meat freezer in the back of the deli where he worked, and it couldn't havebeen more than twenty degrees in there. But he didn't look like he was shaking from the cold. Looked more like he was sweating, his face shiny and tight. He had pulled out the needle and the tubing, and I'd looked at him standing there, surrounded by big slabs of salami and roast beef, and right then an image popped into my head of an air bubble, shiny and round like a pearl, rolling quietly through a vein and stopping my heart . . .

"Junkie, Pothead. That's where I'd been headed: the final, fatal role of the young and would-be black man...Except the highs hadn't been about that, me trying to prove what a down brother I was. Not by then, anyway. I got high for just the opposite effect, something that could push questions of who I was out of my mind, something that could flatten out the landscape of my heart, blur the edges of my memory. I had discovered that it didn't make any difference whether you smoked reefer in the white classmate's sparkling new van, or in the dorm room of some brother you'd met down at the gym, or on the beach with a couple of Hawaiian kids who had dropped out of school and now spent most of their time looking for an excuse to brawl. Nobody asked you whether your father was a fat-cat executive who cheated on his wife or some laid-off joe who slapped you around whenever he bothered to come home. You might just be bored, or alone. Everybody was welcome into the club of disaffection. And if the high didn't solve whatever it was that was getting you down, it could at least help you laugh at the world's ongoing folly and see through all the hypocrisy and bullshit and cheap moralism."

Barack Obama, "Dreams From My Father" 1995,pp. 93-94

[liberalpragmatist]

58. For an American politician, Obama's prose in that book is unbelievable

If you Obama becomes President, can you imagine ANYBODY writing a passage like that? Hell, even OBAMA doesn't write like that anymore. Audacity of Hope is good and very well-written but is much more conventional.

[Withywindle]

59. That's some damn fine prose right there...

...all that and a great writer too. Not fair! (I read it in '04, I'm an Illinoisian.)


Seriously, I think there are lots of people who can look up to someone who went through some tough times and made some mistakes and went on to lead a pretty amazing life on sheer principles and brainpower more than some hypothetical paragon who never made a mistake ever. Who's the better role model REALLY?

I give the American people enough credit to think most can realize that.

[beaconess]

60. SO true!

He also subtly makes an interesting point about the universality of drug use in this country - as he describes his own experiences, he makes clear that this is not confined to young black men - he manages to weavein rich white kids, corporate executives, blue collar workers. It's almost as if he's saying, "you can point a finger at me if you want, but you were right there with me."

[Withywindle]

68. Definitely!

And you have to lead a freakishly sheltered life to not recognize the truth of that, right? Sure, there are lots of people who've never done drugs, but I bet there aren't very many people who've never known people who've done them. They are a pretty deeply entrenched part of American life, and being in some Norman Rockwell-world denial of that...that's a lot scarier to me than someone who admits he got high as a kid.

I think also working in his favor is that no one was pushing him to admit it. He wasn't all that famous yet, he just wrote a memoir because he wanted to and thought his own story was interesting. Almost everything he put in that book is there for a reason, he's really good at tying it all into some larger point that isn't just about him.

[Comicstripper]

61. If anything, it will help him

I truly believe that. White liberals (myself included) will feel even MORE warmth toward him, he'll be seen as a "real person," and the people who it will hurt him with wouldn't have voted for him in the first place.

[Bjorn Against]

63. So you were digging him until 1995?

Because that is when his admission came out.

And honestly, who cares. At least he is not a George Bush who snorts coke and then ran a state government which had some of the most draconian drug laws in the nation. Bush was locking people away for doing the very thing he spent the first forty years of his life doing.

And for the record Bush HAS pretty much admitted to using cocaine.

This will not hurt Obama, a lot of people have done far worse and there is absolutely no evidence that he has used cocaine recently.

A LOT of politicians have done drugs, and I can pretty much assure you there are at least a few current users of cocaine in Congress. I can't give you any names, but to think all of Congress is drug free would be ridiculous.

[Imagevision]

66. Bush refused to deny he used cocaine before 1974... get real!!

[Blue_In_AK]

69. No, he's certainly not the only responsible adult

who's ever used cocaine. Hell, even I have. :evilgrin:

[Ninja Jordan]

70. Presidential candidates are held to higher standards than the rest of us.

I merely question the effect his admission has on his chances in 2008.

[Blue_In_AK]

72. I understand what you're saying

but I think that drug use in one's youth these days is not nearly as much of a liability to a candidate as it would have been, say, 20 years ago. Even us old folks (a lot of us) have experimented, so it's not such a big deal to us as it would have been to my parents, for example, who have now passed on.

[thatsrightimirish]

71. No

If a President gets impeached because of a sex scandal and still has high popularity ratings and then the next President had a known drinking problem and was (I use this term loosely" elected, this shouldn't be a problem. Even O'Reiley was sticking up for Obama on this. I do not think it will be a huge issue. Especially if it becomes public this early.

[Dr Fate]

74. No- not if he continues to handle the question honestly and like a man-unlike Bush...

...who was never straight about his use of the blow...

Most people either tried drugs or know perfectly normal people who did-I think honesty is the key for all issues.

[BadGimp]

76. Only..

Only if he starts to show the kind of tread wear we see on Shrubya.

[eric513]

78. Obama is a rockstar!

Obama is a rockstar, and all rockstars experimented... LOL!

[Ninja Jordan]

84. Literally!

Great t-shirt!

[GenDem]

89. Very true, good point , and great T-shirt

:yourock: and so does Obama! Welcome to DU! :hi:

[fuzzyball]

94. LOL what would be a rock start without a little cocaine to boost the

performance and mood :toast:

[Alexander]

88. I heard this one YD kid here at ASU refer to it as "Obama smoked crack"...

Needless to say, the YDer in question is white, and none of these kids know the first thing about drugs. They'd be the type that, if a joint were being passed around and they decided to smoke it, would hang on to it and keep puffing like it's a cigarette. In fact, they probably wouldn't even smoke it - I imagine 80% of these kids would flip out and be like "Is that POT? Oh my God!" Already when one YDer admitted to having smoked pot in the past, there were audible gasps.

When I explained to this guy that crack and cocaine are two vastly different things (the former being something Obama never did), he shrugged and said "I don't know anything about that stuff". Apparently not, although it takes maybe 5 seconds of reading to know that there's a world of difference between cocaine and crack.

I don't doubt he made the leap from "Obama admitted to once using coke" to "Obama SMOKED CRACK" partly because crack is something largely associated with black people (even though, in reality, most crack users are white).

I don't think admitting to having done cocaine will hurt Obama, but given the rather shabby way CNN and Yahoo News are treating his last name, I look for pundits, right-wingers and racists to keep repeating "Obama SMOKED CRACK". When someone calls them on their bullshit, I imagine the response will be "Oh, you must know more about drug culture than I do" with a wink and a nod.

Then again, these are uninformed college kids. Maybe it's different because I'm a senior, about to graduate, and most of these kids are freshmen and sophomores not a day over 20. Then again I knew crack and cocaine were different long before I first smoked pot, so maybe these kids are just unbelievably sheltered and/or ignorant.

[nodular]

91. I'm not sure of the effect this will have

But here's something to consider. What if he recalled the circumstances of his coke usage and realized that it was extremely likely that this was going to come out in the media in a way he would not be able to deny.

In that case, he's made a good move talking about it first.

[liberalpragmatist]

92. He WROTE About it in a book

This has been out for 11 years and was openly discussed during his Senate campaign (both general and primary).

Here's what he wrote in a passage about his years in high school (taken from a post up-thread):

I blew a few smoke rings remembering those years. Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it. Not smack, though - Micky, my potental initiator, had been just a little too eager for me to go through with that. Said he could do it blindfolded, but he was shaking like a faulty engine when he said it. Maybe he was just cold; we were standing in a meat freezer in the back of the deli where he worked, and it couldn't havebeen more than twenty degrees in there. But he didn't look like he was shaking from the cold. Looked more like he was sweating, his face shiny and tight. He had pulled out the needle and the tubing, and I'd looked at him standing there, surrounded by big slabs of salami and roast beef, and right then an image popped into my head of an air bubble, shiny and round like a pearl, rolling quietly through a vein and stopping my heart . . .

Junkie, Pothead. That's where I'd been headed: the final, fatal role of the young and would-be black man... Except the highs hadn't been about that, me trying to prove what a down brother I was. Not by then, anyway. I got high for just the opposite effect, something that could push questions of who I was out of my mind, something that could flatten out the landscape of my heart, blur the edges of my memory. I had discovered that it didn't make any difference whether you smoked reefer in the white classmate's sparkling new van, or in the dorm room of some brother you'd met down at the gym, or on the beach with a couple of Hawaiian kids who had dropped out of school and now spent most of their time looking for an excuse to brawl. Nobody asked you whether your father was a fat-cat executive who cheated on his wife or some laid-off joe who slapped you around whenever he bothered to come home. You might just be bored, or alone. Everybody was welcome into the club of disaffection. And if the high didn't solve whatever it was that was getting you down, it could at least help you laugh at the world's ongoing folly and see through all the hypocrisy and bullshit and cheap moralism.

Barack Obama, "Dreams From My Father" 1995, pp. 93-94

[Ninja Jordan]

106. In that regard its probably a good strategy.

[k_jerome]

93. no bearing. nt.

[jpgray]

97. People -like- forthright, unsolicited confessions of minor foibles from politicians

A lot of "Christian" politicians base their entire careers on such things (I once was lost but now am found, etc.). Obama has the charisma and the intelligence to pull it off just fine--and after all, it's a presidential drug. US Grant took cocaine, as I remember :D. Let's just not bring up our more famous recent example.

[cleveramerican]

98. its damaging for sure

and if the story goes on long enough it could sink his willingness to even get in the race.


What goes up, must come down

[Ninja Jordan]

108. It's something that needs to be considered.

Better to face it now than in 6-12 months.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

101. No.

That includes the people saying otherwise.

[beaconess]

102. If anyone tries to make an issue of this, the response is to begin asking EVERY candidate on both

sides about THEIR drug history.

After all, the real issue isn't whether or not Obama admitted doing drugs, but the fact that he did them at all, right?

If that's a valid issue to be used against Obama, then it's valid to ask every candidate to come clean.

If we use that standard and force the press to start asking the question of all of the candidates, I bet the issue will die a quiet death but quick.

[Milo_Bloom]

103. Toast for now because...

For so many reasons there are too many people looking for what they preceive as a legitimate issue not to like him. You are playing with the American psyche here. Too many people SEE HIM and don't want to like him, but something in them doesn't allow them to make a judgement based solely on the color of his skin, so they are willing to listen. They hear his name, Barack Hussein Obama, and want to dislike him, but something in them tells them someone's name isn't a valid reason to dislike someone, so they will listen and may be turned.

AH-HA.. He is a coke user. (so what if it was 30 years ago and most Americans have experimented with narcotics at some point in their lives) Now people will feel justified in not listening to him.

Unfortunately, he just lost the chance to convert tens of millions of people to his side, they were predisposed to dislike him because of the sound of his name and the color of his skin.

Can we face reality??

I think he would be much MUCH better as a VP candidate this time around (Gore/Obama, Clark/Obama)... people are going to need to "get used to him" on the national stage and he just has too much working against him to be the main target of what is sure to be a furious republican attack machine. The cocaine use just pours gasoline on a smoldering fire.

He WILL be President someday, but not right now.

[MrRobotsHolyOrders]

104. Obama just solved the problem of prior drug use instantly.

It's on the table now, not in New Hampshire when some shiftless Young Republican fuck he shared a line with his first year of law school ambushes him with it, and Wolf Blitzer gets a chance to ask Jonah Goldberg, "Is the Obama campaign over? Shouldn't he just leave the country in shame?"

To which Jonah GOldberh replies, "Yes. Can you pass me that can of whip cream?"

[MrRobotsHolyOrders]

105. Implying Jonah Goldberg is enormously fucking fat...

...not that he was licking whip cream off Wold Blitzer. That would be tasteless.

[Digit]

109. Probably

Right now, it is not an issue...but I fear it would be used against him when the time was ripe to do so.

[WinkyDink]

110. I don't think using cocaine is something I'd like my leader to have done.

P.S. Bush is not my leader.

[beaconess]

112. So - you believe that once someone makes a mistake as a youth, they should be permanently

barred from positions of leadership?

If so, why?

[WinkyDink]

114. Do I or do I not read on DU

frequently about Laura's car accident? How about Jeb's son's public lewdness?

Sometimes youth has a way of affecting one's future. Good thing Obama was luckier than Len Bias.

[FredScuttle]

120. Gee....was Laura "I killed my high school boyfriend fucking dead" Bush elected?

Plus I've never heard her utter even a remorseful remark about her homicidal behavior.

The Bush family are killers, through and through. Obama would be a breath of fresh air.

[beaconess]

132. Well let's see - vehicular homicide is NOT the same as snorting cocaine

Moreover, Laura's "youthful indiscretion" hasn't seemed to hindered her ability to move forward one iota.

And Jeb's son's public lewdness will probably mean nothing in 20 years, especially if he does something useful with his life.

Your attitude is the same attitude that condemns people to a life of misery forever because of a mistake they made as youths. Under your standard - which is extraordinarily judgmental, in my view - if someone does something wrong when he's 18 years old, he can never overcome it and is forever doomed to second-class citizenship because of it.

Fortunately, I don't think most voters think like you do.

And you're right - good think Obama was luckier than Len Bias. He's was also luckier than David Kennedy and River Phoenix and John Belushi and all of the other white people who used drugs and didn't live to tell about it. And he's not as lucky as George W (and countless other white people), who by all accounts, used drugs and booze well into adulthood, but never had it hinder him in any goal he ever wished to achieve.

I agree that youth as a way of affecting one's future. Sometimes it makes them better people down the road - which I think is the case of Obama. I would much rather have someone in the White House who has a clue about how people live in the real world.

[NotGivingUp]

131. i couldn't care less...it's not a measure of a what makes a great president

[sandnsea]

134. RFK Jr was addicted to heroin

I'd support him for President any day of the week. A person's RECOVERY is what matters.

[ProudDad]

115. Nope, I don't

No big deal...

[rhett o rick]

119. He is toast if he doesn't start fighting back. They have already started their smear

campaign. So far he has taken the Kerry approach of smiling and taking it. By 2008 he will be toast. Granted it is risky to fight back, but if we democrats don't start, we will loose everything.

[gulliver]

121. Buh-bye. Only Republicans elect coke users and DUI convicts.

Think how many Dems right here on this board attack our little president as a cokehead.

[ripple]

123. The attacks on Chimpy have more to do with his hypocrisy

Also, although we at DU frequently mock Bush's past, I doubt his coke use and alcoholism even rank in the top ten when it comes to reasons average Americans disapprove of him.

I don't think this will be a big deal for Obama at all. If anything, he's demostrated that he values honesty over political maneuvering. That will score him a lot of points with voters who are sick of duplicitous politicians.

[gulliver]

124. It's a factor. I would argue it is a big one.

Blanket hypocrisy gives Republicans leeway that Dems don't have. It would be difficult for Obama to claim he was reborn at 40 and get away with it in the Dem party. We are held to higher standards by the media for one thing.

Let's see how Obama addresses it on camera -- if indeed he chooses to run. He will need one heck of a performance. I don't think it is doable. People are sick of flawed candidates. Clinton would not have made it past the Flowers scandals if he were running today.

Also, Bush has dealt a setback to candidates with flawed personal histories -- if you know what I mean.

[ripple]

125. I don't anticipate Obama claiming any sort of mid-life epiphany

He explains it well in his book and when it's put into context, it's part of the larger identity struggle he experienced as a biracial male in the US.

I think Obama's matter-of-fact style will help him a great deal. When asked about it, he'll respond and move the conversation on to more pressing issues that impact us today. I don't think he'll allow that issue to define his personality. As it is, the fact that he's admitted it takes a lot of the intrigue and sensationalism away.

I agree that the rethugs will attempt any and every smear they can think of, and some will inevitable stick. If it were a different candidate (say Kerry, for example), I would be more concerned. I just think Obama has the unique ability to frame the conversation in a manner that elevates the discussion away from the smear machine.

[beaconess]

138. Obama isn't claiming some kind of rebirth at 40

He says that as a teenager he used pot and coke - like millions of other Americans did. He does not claim nor is there any evidence that he used drugs after he became an adult. He went on to be an excellent student, graduated at the top of his class at Columbia, worked in his community, matriculated at Harvard Law School where he was president of the Harvard Law Review, became a lawyer and law professor, and then ran for public office in his mid-thirties.

We're not talking about a man who boozed and snorted his way through his 20s and 30s while raising a family only to claim an epiphany at 40.

The judgmentalism in this forum is breathtaking. The idea that so-called progressive Democrats would insist that anyone who admits having tried drugs as a teenager should, ipso facto, have it held against them for the rest of their lives, no matter how long ago it was or what or who they eventually become, is quite unbelievable to me.

Some DUers sound just like the holier-than-thou "law and order" crowd who think that it's perfectly reasonable for poor and minority youth to be forever doomed to a life of jail, degradation, no education, and broken hope all because they happened to get caught, while other people who engaged in the same behavior are free to enjoy all that society has to offer and to move forward with productive and rewarding lives - as long as they didn't get caught and they keep their mouths shut about their "youthful indeiscretions."

I call bullshit on the whole "Obama's toast because he admits he used drugs 25 years ago" argument. In my view, it's a load of hypocritical, judgmental crap.

[gulliver]

139. Hey, I'm not holier than thou.

I did more than my share of pot and even some coke (ahem, etc.) in my teen years and early twenties. I don't personally think it disqualifies Obama to have done so. But I do think so politically. I'm not being judgemental. I strongly believe in legalization of all drugs, for example, and I don't hold it against Obama that he used them.

I guess I'm calling bullshit on people calling bullshit on people for being judgemental. Maybe it seems like we are being judgemental on this issue, but I don't think that is the case for the majority of DUers.

[ProudDad]

135. Hell

his coke use and his drinking were his only endearing qualities. :)

[Joe Bacon]

126. Yes, he is finished.

The Whore Press is going to take Obama and put him in the grinder just like they finished off Carol Moseley Braun.

[NYCGirl]

127. There's a comparison between Carol Moseley Braun and Obama? How do you

figure that?

[Joe Bacon]

128. The Media was out to get them right from the start.

From the very start they went after Carol and they destroyed her. They are in the process of turning Obama into another one termer.

[NYCGirl]

130. They're out to get EVERYONE — Moseley Braun, though, doesn't have 1/100th

the following that Obama does.

[NotGivingUp]

129. bush didn't HAVE to admit anything because our corporate-owned media

surely would not force the issue. But, of course, this would not be the case with obama.

[Recursion]

136. Nope. The fact that he still smokes cigarettes is a bigger problem IMO

A lot of people won't vote for a cigarette smoker. Go figure.

[bling bling]

137. Well then the people need to be reminded that Laura Bush smokes like a chimney.

Regardless of how the Republicans feel about Bush, pretty much all of them like Laura and a lot of the independents think she's a nice respectable lady. The Dems just need to stoop to their level on this one should the need surface.