Obama’s Cocaine Use
Posted on January 3, 2007
Obama fever was in the media today! Drudge ran with the headline, “Hillary Says Obama Candidacy Will Fade” from the NY Times. Ace felt compelled to write something about him. However, the juiciest piece was about his past cocaine use.
In the book, Obama acknowledges that he used cocaine as a high school student but rejected heroin. “Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it. Not smack, though,†he says.
In an interview during his Senate race two years ago, Obama said he admitted using drugs because he thought it was important for “young people who are already in circumstances that are far more difficult than mine to know that you can make mistakes and still recover.
Time and time again the American people have shown they are forgiving people, especially to those that are open about their past mistakes. They are even attracted to the aspect of people who have overcome their haunting past. Bill Clinton’s ‘non-inhaling’ of marijuana, and Bush’s alcoholism were both overlooked and for some people it made them seem more real. We all have regrets and things in our past that we wish we didn’t. I think it was a smart move for Obama to be straight up and honest about this early in his career instead of waiting for someone else to bring it up pushing him into defense mode. Now it is out there, surely to fade into a non-issue.
I’m with Captain Ed on this. There are plenty of better reasons to oppose Barack Obama than his youthful mistakes.
I’m not sure why. I suppose I could, as Democratic political consultant Anita Dunn says, “cast the first stone” if I were so inclined. I’m one of the few of my generation (which includes Obama) who never tried pot or other illegal substances. Since that makes me “sinless” in this context — and in this context only — I guess I have the moral authority to proclaim him disqualified.
Instead, though, I wonder what purpose that serves. Are we to argue that anyone who used pot in high school and college will forever be banned from high public office? (Stop snickering — you know what I mean.) No one goes through life without making mistakes, after all, and the mistakes Obama describes have been made by plenty of people in my generation, regardless of skin color, economic strata, or location. It would make a big difference if Obama or anyone else was still making these mistakes, but it looks like those issues are twenty years past or more — hardly indicative of the man he his now, or the value of his talents to his constituents.
Tom MacGuire makes a good case on how this cast a ‘no big deal’ light on the use of cocaine to our youth, and Allahpundit doesn’t think this should be turned into a political advantage, as many of Obama’s supporters think it will. I don’t think people are talking about rewarding his past behavior, sympathizing with it, or even praising his full disclosure so much. If anything about this is worthy of praise it is his triumph over the demon. While the mistake says something about his character, so does the fact that he beat it. I don’t think this will be used to any advantage unless enough people make a big deal out of it, and then it has the potential to. I think it should be left as a non-issue.
Could a Republican get away with something like this? Probably not, but what it really comes back to is what Captain Ed said, “I’m no fan of Barack Obama, but once again, I have to think that we have better grounds on which to oppose him than whether he smoked pot in the late 1970s.”
» Filed Under Illegal Activities, Moral Relativism, News, Video
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8 Responses to “Obama’s Cocaine Use”
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A good sleeping night for Hillary
I see no real issue with the fact he used illegal drugs in the past in that it should not affect him any more than it would a worker in another job. There are other problems with this. The first is his excuse of using drugs in High School to forget who he was (or words to that effect). Kids in High School use drugs to get high and the excuse is put out as justification for the behavior and to soften the blow.
Clinton’s drug use was ignored by the left and Bush’s battles with the bottle were largely viewed as a non issue. However, the left skewered Bush as a coke head. One of John Kerry’s snotty nosed punk kids called Bush that coke head. People on the left alluded to Bush and alleged drug use on a regular basis during the last campaign.
Let Rush Limbaugh get addicted to pain killers and the left skewers him as Rush “Pillbaugh”. Let Obama say he took drugs and it is forgiven or overlooked. Like I said, I could care less as long as he is not using it now. However, let us see if this plays out as “fairly” as it did for Bush and for Limbaugh.
Look, I cant stand Obama, but hell even I used cocaine in the 80s with MANY people.. I am not saying its right, nor am I saying I still use it.. Life is far too short to spend it drugged up, but this is no reason to hate Obama.. He gives us PLENTY of other reasons to dislike him.
All this so-called “sophisticated talk†about the use of drugs by celebrities of every category leaves me with one question. What effect does the general acceptance by the public and others have on young people who do not cave in to peer pressure? I have actually heard young adults protest, saying, why are the users getting praised and promoted, and their breaking the law is winked at, and they are sometimes even credited with being more daring, more creative than others. Does it make them feel that being a law-abiding citizen is not a goal worth pursuing?
Just wondering.
Once again we see the Democrats telling their candidate “to get out all the DIRT that
might be found” now so it will be old news in Nov. 07.
But this guy has a lot more to be looked at and looked at well. What were the
characters he was pals with in Hawaii where he first got introduced into how
to get ‘noticed’ by politicos?
Why was he hanging out with indicted criminal Reskyo and his friend?
Tell us more about that property deal?
We understand that your wife is a luncheon and shopping partner with REskyo’s wife?
The drug use seems to be pretty prevalent in your life. Was that Marijuane,
COCAIN and no doubt meths….This is illegal in “Our” country!
Did this guy ever tell us that he knows anyone that leaves the MUSLIM RELIGION
WILL BE PUT TO DEATH? Or, is he doing it at the behest of the ISLAMIC NATION?
tHEY WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A MUSLIM NATIVE AS THEIR FRIEND>
I smoked some marijuana and did some speed mostly to be cool and because of peer pressure. I have not figured out what the cure of those two ailments for either minors adults except through faith in Jesus and sadly not everyone chooses to believe. Time does seem to cure them in at least some situations and I see no reason not to forgive. The far left does seem to be a bunch of hypocrites but maybe it is just the ones I am exposed to.
Ok, Obama’s past (or MAYBE past) pals are not as much concern as the one’s he choses to keep company with in the present, I mean take a look at some of the Lyrics of the “Rapper” who calls himself Ludacris, (who’s real name is Chris Bridges)Who Barack Hussein Obama met with and talked about (of all things) “Empowering The Youth” … Ok we see who’s vote he’s trying to “Rock” … lol So this “Ludacris” is a person in Obama’s mind who would set an example for the Youth of this country … Please have a look at this link and the lyrics of this “Role Model” creoleneworleans.typepad.com/creole_folks/2006/12/barack_obama_ge.html
Obama needs to support our troops and their mission in Iraq instead of campaigning against the war.