Heart-ache: ABC reporter fears Obama may have lied to him about smoking
posted at 2:52 pm on April 3, 2008 by Allahpundit
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It’s Jake Tapper, whom you’ll know most recently from his skepticism about Hillary’s Marines story but may remember from his scolding of right-wing bloggers for getting inappropriately indignant over Obama’s Taliban anecdote. Bear that in mind as you read this. What right does a presidential candidate have to lie to a nosy reporter about something that’s totally irrelevant to the election and therefore none of his business? I ask you.
Obama ran off before I could ask him if he’d just snuck a smoke, so I called his campaign.
They denied it. He’d quit months before, in February, they insisted. He chewed nicorette…
Except….last night on MSNBC’s Hardball, Obama admitted that his attempt to wean himself from the vile tobacco weed had not been entirely successful…
It’s not a big deal in the scheme of things — the war on Iraq, a major economic crisis — indeed, it’s miniscule. Hardly worth mentioning.
Except that I don’t like feeling that I wasn’t being dealt with honestly. And as much as citizens who are suspect of the media might scoff at such a notion, many of us consider ourselves to be your representatives to help make sure our leaders are telling us the truth, and leading the country down a path we’re confident is the right one. (Corny, I know.)
Dare I suggest that he’s offended at Obama’s willingness to lie to him personally, not in his capacity as a representative of ABC his profession a powerful guild “the people”? Exit question: Anyone troubled by this? At all? Come forth, “people,” and speak!
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What’sone more more lie when he has told so many?
bookman on April 3, 2008 at 2:55 PM
Isn’t smoking one of the most vile deadly sins in liberal land?
No wonder he’s been grumpy on the campaign trail. He’s jones-ing.
I would actually like him better if he were a smoker. I’m a non-smoker, but I’m sick to death of the anti-smoking fanatics.
NoDonkey on April 3, 2008 at 2:55 PM
It’s got to be a hard thing to quit smoking while under the white hot spotlight of a campaign.
JP_Smith on April 3, 2008 at 2:55 PM
I was gonna not vote for him before—but now!!! I’m really gonna not vote for him!
jdpaz on April 3, 2008 at 2:56 PM
Clearly Obama has an oral fixation and lacks self-control! Is this the person we want answering the phone at 3AM…with a weed in his mouth!
Dread Pirate Roberts VI on April 3, 2008 at 2:57 PM
He doesn’t mind that Obama used lawyer lies in his story about our troops, but sneaking a smoke is causing a heartache? Tapper needs to get some priorities.
Think_b4_speaking on April 3, 2008 at 2:57 PM
Quitting smoking is easy. I’ve done it many times.
Akzed on April 3, 2008 at 2:57 PM
To Paraphrase one of Mitt Romney’s best news conferences as Governor, “No, you don’t represent the people. Nobody voted for you. Nobody elected you.”
TheBigOldDog on April 3, 2008 at 2:57 PM
Hey, at least he didn’t say he tried quitting while ducking sniper fire in Tuzla.
pilamaye on April 3, 2008 at 2:58 PM
I can see him standing out back of the White House in the rain every half hour with the secretaries suckin on a Kool.
Akzed on April 3, 2008 at 2:59 PM
It depends…
.
.
.
was it 3am?
.
.
subbottomfeeder on April 3, 2008 at 2:59 PM
Well, there goes Tim Robbins’ vote.
Mr. Bingley on April 3, 2008 at 2:59 PM
Calling Obama a liar is racist.
OhEssYouCowboys on April 3, 2008 at 3:00 PM
My lungs ache just thinking about inhaling a Kool or a Newport…uhg! Why did you have to put that thought in my head?!
TheBigOldDog on April 3, 2008 at 3:00 PM
“Well, I’ve already answered, like, 8 questions.”
OhEssYouCowboys on April 3, 2008 at 3:01 PM
I certainly don’t care except that I’d say it was a stupid move on Obama’s part to even try to stop smoking right before running for president. What was he thinking?
Esthier on April 3, 2008 at 3:02 PM
Hey – I wasn’t going to vote for Obama before, but after witnessing the huge outpouring of liberal outrage that people are being so very mean to their messiah, I feel compelled to vote for Obama now!!!
wise_man on April 3, 2008 at 3:03 PM
What? You mean they aren’t out there representing us?
Rick on April 3, 2008 at 3:03 PM
It’s not Obama’s fault he smokes.
It’s genetic.
Hoodlumman on April 3, 2008 at 3:05 PM
Stop the Grumpiness….
Get some Chantix FFS!
upinak on April 3, 2008 at 3:05 PM
Well… if nothing else, at least he smokes. That’s the ONLY reason I would ever vote for him, but even then, only if the alternative was Huckabee.
Gartrip on April 3, 2008 at 3:05 PM
For once, I sympathize with Osama Obama. Not easy to ditch that weed-habit.
Jake Tapper needs to get a life, it’s not all about him, no matter what he thinks.
MrScribbler on April 3, 2008 at 3:05 PM
No worries over Wright or Meeks, but smoking, now, that’s beyond the pale.
funky chicken on April 3, 2008 at 3:06 PM
hey if I bowled a 37 Id pick up a cig too…..and a stiff whiskey
CaptainObvious on April 3, 2008 at 3:06 PM
Nice to see Obama still enjoys the harvest of ancestral slaves. Must be his reviled ‘white blood’ kickin’ in.
Sheesh. How pointless.
LimeyGeek on April 3, 2008 at 3:06 PM
This is a bad week to quit crack. Opium Dreams Of My Father. The Audacity Of Tobacco.
2Tru2Tru on April 3, 2008 at 3:07 PM
Then quit asking questions that aren’t your business, because you’re not entitled to be “dealt with honestly” when you have your nose where it doesn’t belong.
paul006 on April 3, 2008 at 3:07 PM
This is clearly a photoshop done by the V.R.W.C.!
Tony737 on April 3, 2008 at 3:07 PM
I like smoke from time to time. So you could say I’ve “quit many times.”
I empathize with Obama. For all I care, he could chain smoke. His policies are what disturb me. I think he is a pretty truthful guy on the whole.
Dr. Manhattan on April 3, 2008 at 3:07 PM
5, 6 times a day? LOL
funky chicken on April 3, 2008 at 3:08 PM
Hey, that’s MY White House. I don’t want any smoking in my house. The priceless paintings, the furniture — they don’t belong to the Obamas. They belong to us. I’ve been in the White House and it’s just fabulous and beautiful.
This is one person who doesn’t want a smoker in the White House. He’s going to leave grime everywhere, and cigarette burns on the Oval Office desk. Eech. And you know smokers — they litter like crazy. There will be disgusting butts in the Rose Garden, killing the plants.
Don’t like smokers. Don’t like ‘em, don’t like ‘em. Oh, damn, does that mean I’m a racist?
bonnie_ on April 3, 2008 at 3:08 PM
I just quit smoking 6 months ago…easiest/hardest/best thing I have ever done ….so far
beefytee on April 3, 2008 at 3:08 PM
Change this to Bush and drink and watch the uproar.
roux on April 3, 2008 at 3:08 PM
What do you mean by WE kimosobi?
Just A Grunt on April 3, 2008 at 3:08 PM
I like Jake, but this was extremely lame.
ninjapirate on April 3, 2008 at 3:09 PM
RACIST!!!1one!!!eleven!!1
Vic on April 3, 2008 at 3:09 PM
Kools? shudder Very popular in the ‘hood though.
funky chicken on April 3, 2008 at 3:09 PM
Wonder what else he did not stop doing? Cocaine, crack be thy name. Does the name Marion Berry ring a bell? I am sure B. H. Obama would be up for the 3am call. Smoking…
Zelsdorf Ragshaft on April 3, 2008 at 3:11 PM
Clinton had a thing for cigars, funny though I don’t recall seeing a report where he actually smoked them.
Oh well.
Just A Grunt on April 3, 2008 at 3:11 PM
It’s stupid. But if it catches fire, so be it. I won’t be fueling it.
Vizzini on April 3, 2008 at 3:12 PM
Meanwhile, Obama’s wooing voters with free Dave Matthews concert tickets.
amerpundit on April 3, 2008 at 3:12 PM
Do we REALLY want a President with his finger on The Button while chewing wildly on a Nicorette?
leftnomore on April 3, 2008 at 3:14 PM
“Who’s been puttin their Kool’s out on my floor! I said, who’s been puttin their Kool’s out on my floor!”
Lame Eddie Murphy movie reference.
PappaMac on April 3, 2008 at 3:15 PM
it’s really ok because Nobama just smokes blunts these days and the only tobacco is the wrapping sheesh and everyone knows you need a smoke after a long night of partying and doing coke
a colaMojack420 on April 3, 2008 at 3:16 PM
So does this mean he won’t be covered by his National Health Care Plan?
Mr. Bingley on April 3, 2008 at 3:19 PM
I saw that earlier, isn’t that the greatest? Pulling the rug out, straight out of a Nixon playbook.
Obama smoking is no big deal it is one of two things that give me the creeps. One is, was he like a school boy, afraid he was doing wrong… door number two, did he lie because he knows it is a liberal sin, and he wants the votes so much that he lies.
right2bright on April 3, 2008 at 3:19 PM
As a smoker, I always suspected that he really did not quit. The ironic thing is that he thinks that smoking is worse than his pastor. He throws one under the bus, but not the other.
Laura Bush is a smoker, I believe.
rw on April 3, 2008 at 3:19 PM
well isnt he already covered by a life time health plan because he was senator .
Mojack420 on April 3, 2008 at 3:20 PM
After a decade of the Clintons, Welcome to the club…….
Seven Percent Solution on April 3, 2008 at 3:21 PM
Does he smoke Kools? Didn’t the CIA introduce menthol cigarettes, aka, Kools into the black community to… to… to do something.
Blake on April 3, 2008 at 3:21 PM
That summarizes the liberal insanity in a nutshell. In the religion of Liberalism, smoking is a mortal sin. Being unpatriotic, hating white people, snorting coke, etc., are considered virtues.
TheBigOldDog on April 3, 2008 at 3:23 PM
Kools…yeaj right. After all, he’s black. what else would he smoke. Sheesh.
Grow Fins on April 3, 2008 at 3:24 PM
You could argue it’s meaningful. Here’s my attempt:
“If it’s so trivial and irrelevant, then why lie about it? This was a lie aimed at protecting a carefully cultivated image. It was a lie in service of sparing the revelation of a minor embarassing truth. If he’ll sacrifice his integrity for that, then won’t he sacrifice it for something much more important as well. Isn’t it the stupid little lies like this that reveal whether or not a person has no regard for the truth and is so willing to abandon it when it serves their purpose?”
There. You know, I think I’ve convinced myself. Obama lied! Tobacco plants died!
Spolitics on April 3, 2008 at 3:24 PM
Either way, guess who is footing the bill?
Rick on April 3, 2008 at 3:24 PM
I had the impression he promised Michelle. I hope she doesn’t start to doubt his word. You know how vocal she can be when disappointed.
a capella on April 3, 2008 at 3:29 PM
That is a photoshop, right? Who smokes like that, outside of detective movies and comic books?
Tanya on April 3, 2008 at 3:33 PM
You took the words right out of my mouth. That is one nasty habit and makes everything around the smoker nasty, as well.
txsurveyor on April 3, 2008 at 3:34 PM
This is the first time in my adult life that I’ve ever been proud of
my countryObama. He’s just being a typicalwhite personcloset smoker.pistolero on April 3, 2008 at 3:34 PM
I think he’s taking NC now.
freevillage on April 3, 2008 at 3:35 PM
If he is elected, and travels to places like California or Montgomery County Maryland, will he have to be kept 300′ away from children?
eeyore on April 3, 2008 at 3:35 PM
Seriously! It’d be like trying to quit before final exams, but exponentially so.
Tanya on April 3, 2008 at 3:35 PM
Awesome people, that’s who.
Dr. Manhattan on April 3, 2008 at 3:36 PM
Smokers are the last group of people that can be openly discriminated against with self righteous indignation and piety. You are such a superior individual.
pistolero on April 3, 2008 at 3:37 PM
No wonder his wife says he smells. mmmmmm c’mere with your sexy ashtray breath and let’s get jiggy.
Alden Pyle on April 3, 2008 at 3:40 PM
“Who’s been puttin their Kool’s out on my floor! I said, who’s been puttin their Kool’s out on my floor!”
Lame Eddie Murphy movie reference.
PappaMac on April 3, 2008 at 3:15 PM
It is not a lame reference…and I can name that movie! In fact, I just watched it. The newer movies have those pesky menus…very hard when you’ve moved & can’t find the remote.
Miss_Anthrope on April 3, 2008 at 3:44 PM
Amen, Pistolero. I guess Lincoln, FDR, Eisenhower, JFK and Johnson, just to name a few, soiled the White House beyond repair.
BacaDog on April 3, 2008 at 3:44 PM
Sorry to go OT (again)….the Pelosi/Petraeus story would be a kicker. Just sayin……
Limerick on April 3, 2008 at 3:45 PM
Eh. Fat people and Jews are currently lining up to take objection to that statement.
Tanya on April 3, 2008 at 3:46 PM
There have been two smokers in the White House for the last seven and a half years.
I quite (for the fourth or fifth time) in October. It’s tough.
baldilocks on April 3, 2008 at 3:47 PM
I know quite a few Evangelical Christians who are in line for that demonstration…
philwynk on April 3, 2008 at 3:48 PM
Fat Jewish Smokers Unite and Fight Discrimination!
pistolero on April 3, 2008 at 3:48 PM
Barack should only quit smoking for the sake of his own health and the well-being of his family. Quitting for political appearances is ridiculous.
D2Boston on April 3, 2008 at 3:48 PM
Oh and I can always tell when BHO has fallen off the nic wagon. He looks older.
baldilocks on April 3, 2008 at 3:49 PM
I can’t imagine anybody astute being surprised anymore to discover that Barack Obama has deceived them. It’s becoming a regular pattern.
On the other hand, if this incident helps Jake Tapper break free from the Obamania Delusion, I suppose we should encourage him.
philwynk on April 3, 2008 at 3:49 PM
Trapper definitely needs to get a grip and stop manufacturing new stories. Seriously.
Topsecretk9 on April 3, 2008 at 3:50 PM
An MSM reporter feels hurt because he wasn’t “dealt with honestly”.
Man, that’s rich.
forest on April 3, 2008 at 3:50 PM
Typing is tough also. ‘Quit.’
baldilocks on April 3, 2008 at 3:51 PM
He is just doing it for the kids
Mojack420 on April 3, 2008 at 3:51 PM
I simply refer you to:
http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/104220
Specifically, starting at 2:15
darury on April 3, 2008 at 3:51 PM
folks… just like it wans’t the sex but the lie?
Same deal…
I really don’t care if he smokes or not, but it does tell me somthing about his character if he lies about it.
Romeo13 on April 3, 2008 at 3:54 PM
Would you feel that way regardless of who wins the election? I thought Fred! enjoyed a cigar on occasion. Does it apply to all future elections? Is it a deal breaker for you?
a capella on April 3, 2008 at 3:55 PM
OK Jake, he smokes. But does he inhale? ‘Cause that would really be wrong.
Bugler on April 3, 2008 at 3:59 PM
Yeah, I saw that link from Drudge…it reminded me of a couple of scenes from a movie…Amazing Grace…it’s based on the true story of how slavery was ended in England…on two different occasions, a member of one political party gave free tickets to an entertainment event in order to draw members of parliament away from a vote…it worked both times…now Obama’s team used that trick to pull a lot of people out of the audience just as Bill Clinton was getting ready to speak…
After Bill’s blowup yesterday (about Richardson), and this public humilation today, I really wouldn’t doubt it if Bill & Hillary are ready to “Vince Foster” Obama. Don’t think they couldn’t or wouldn’t do it. We’ve seen how close the Secret Service let people get to Obama. I am not advocating any harm to Obama. I am saying that the Clintons have a long track record in this area. And if it happens again, Hillary would blame it on a “Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy”.
Red Pill on April 3, 2008 at 4:01 PM
What, liberals lie? Who knew. Like the free lunch offered by liberals, Liberalism is a lie.
tarpon on April 3, 2008 at 4:01 PM
Looks like the guy who panhandled me over lunch.
argos on April 3, 2008 at 4:01 PM
Exactly.
Red Pill on April 3, 2008 at 4:03 PM
It’s actually part of the racist white government to kill off black folk.
rbj on April 3, 2008 at 4:06 PM
Character Makes a Difference
Red Pill on April 3, 2008 at 4:06 PM
I like the idea of the POTUS being a smoker. All our lives are filled with choices, good and bad. We smokers made one bad choice, and most non-smokers think that one bad choice gives them the right to treat us like lepers. For Christ’s sake, we’re only hurting ourselves, there’s no evidence that temporary exposure to second-hand smoke (like hanging out at a bar) carries a significant health risk. The only way second-hand smoke is dangerous is after prolonged, constant exposure, i.e., if you live with someone who smokes indoors and never opens the window.
I think Obama should just be honest and say, “Look, it’s too hard to quit. I’m ashamed that I’m addicted to cigarettes, but it doesn’t impact my ability to be President, and I’m not going to stand for the condescension of non-smokers any longer.” Now, that would be change I could believe in.
Enrique on April 3, 2008 at 4:06 PM
Looks like the guy who panhandled me over lunch.
argos on April 3, 2008 at 4:01 PM
I’ve always heard that panhandling is a lucrative means of obtaining 40 million dollars in a short time. Obama is proof positive now.
PrettyD_Vicious on April 3, 2008 at 4:07 PM
So. Does this mean Obama would have to take those 3 a.m. phone calls outside?
Connie on April 3, 2008 at 4:10 PM
I think it’d be cool once more to have a smoking President.
He could have it in a nice, long cigarette holder.
Tzetzes on April 3, 2008 at 4:13 PM
Another day, another lie, another bump in the polls.
awake on April 3, 2008 at 4:14 PM
Corny isn’t the first word that comes to mind, Jimmy Olsen.
Tongueboy on April 3, 2008 at 4:17 PM
He ran off before he could ask him such an important question as to whether he was hiding to smoke a cigarette? On this one issue, I have sympathy and support for Obama.
Sue on April 3, 2008 at 4:18 PM
Don’t be ridiculous. I’ve worked for Fortune 500 companies. When an executive wants to smoke, he gets his office tricked out with the latest and greatest in air purifying devices. Or he simply smokes.
Law are for us little people, not the Obamas—and execs—of the world.
Meryl Yourish on April 3, 2008 at 4:18 PM
…that’s a Persian rug, from Persia!!!!
fnhaole on April 3, 2008 at 4:20 PM
Admitting you have a problem is the first step, jackass. Well done.
Metro on April 3, 2008 at 4:21 PM
Get the **** out!!!
Metro on April 3, 2008 at 4:21 PM
“That is not a cigarette in my mouth. It’s a pencil.”
argos on April 3, 2008 at 4:31 PM
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