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The Obama cocaine allegation hasn't really resurfaced since it first came out. I'm sure it will come up if Obama is nominated, but I genuinely don't believe it will swing the election - it didn't for Gore.

Copacetic | 02/26/08

To clarify, I am referring to the fact that Bush also used cocaine, and it doesn't seem to bother most Republicans.

Copacetic | 02/26/08

The jab at Obama about having tried cocaine is shabby. How many Americans can HONESTLY say they have never tried some illegal drug? Is it possible we can EVER have a president who hasn't tried them, at least once? Bill Clinton tried to "fudge" on his own youthful experimentation by saying, yes, he tried marijuana, but - didn't inhale; Pretty poor. Obama confronted the issue with honesty. And the fact that he consciously chose to abandon the drug culture entirely is very strong in his favor. His youthful foolishness has resulted in greater wisdom. Why do people jump all over him for doing what they themselves did - or are still doing - and that their own kids have already done, or will do? Kids make dumb choices, all too often. Should those be held against them as adults? Especially when they thoroughly learned WHY the choices were dumb ones? If people find that Obama's "chemical dependency" (a misrepresentation) is offensive, they might try looking into their own Bibles and finding a reference to those throwing the first stones. He never became dependent; had he done so, he'd still be there. Or in rehab. He stopped before it became a dependency. HE LEARNED his lesson. And who, but one who has learned his lesson the hard way, is in a better position to advise America's young people about why there's a lesson AT ALL to be learned? Can someone who'd never touched an illicit drug preach on its dangers as effectively as someone who went through the mill? Older people are supposed to be wiser. I'm an older person, and find that other "oldsters" aren't always any wiser than the young. The difference here, regarding Obama's admission of youthful drug use, is one of priggishness, not of wisdom. "Are we really going to have a President who used cocaine?" makes the presumption that we haven't already had one. It's entirely possible we did, but nobody knew it. Did anyone check to see if Bush indulged? And how much did Bush's alcoholism cost him in the two elections he WON? I'd much rather have someone who tried dope as a kid and learned from it than one who had been a hard-core alcoholic - as an adult. The mindset of adult abusers of any substance always implies a sense of personal inadequacy. Obama grew up from his experiences. It seems some people here never have.

faster | 02/27/08

Hey, what's with all this " stuff that got into my posting? I sure didn't put it there. Sorry to those who have to wade through those to find the words in the middle that are really mine own. Maybe there's something about HTML'ing that caused it. I don't know about that stuff. For PC dumdums like me, I guess it means "never post anything that contains material in quotes." Whoops! I just did it again.

faster | 02/27/08

Do you type your comment into Microsoft Word first and then copy it to make sure spelling is O.K. if you do that's the problem.

yngster | 02/28/08

I personally don't have a problem with Obama's alleged cocaine use. Bush had dependency issues, as have many other former Presidents. I won't be supporting Obama in 2008 and I find disgust in his policy positions; but I do not think prior indiscretions should really be a factor in politics.

Consequentialist Libertarian | 03/01/08

Condi... are you going to debate with me or not? Take the advice of Austhus and finish old debates before starting new ones.

yngster | 03/05/08