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!