# Does Obama pee in a cup? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 23, 2010, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-obama-pee-in-a-cup/558104 "2010-10-23T16:23:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2010, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-obama-pee-in-a-cup/558104/21 "2010-10-24T00:40:41Z")
Well, they’re federal employees, but they’re not members of the civil service. In most legislation, “federal employee” is taken to mean members of the civil service. For example, the above-mentioned 5 USC § 7301 provides: > [@](#): > > The words “employees in the executive branch” are substituted for “persons who may receive appointments in the civil service”. Standard changes are made to conform with the definitions applicable and the style of this title as outlined in the preface to the report. The president, vice president, and all their appointed underlings are federal employees, but not members of that group. ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2010, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-obama-pee-in-a-cup/558104/22 "2010-10-24T02:33:57Z")
> [@Captain\_Midnight](#): > > Does the President of the United States have to submit to drug testing? The law to test federal employees has been around since early Reagan. The Presidency is a federal job. So is being a congressman or senator. I smoke marijuana and believe it should be legal, but their forebearers enacted these laws, and they are part of the laws. Obama was a late 70’s teen. I myself am 6 years younger than Obama and recently celebrated 25 years of marijuana use. > > If the President (not Obama necessarily) was caught or was proven to smoke marijuana, is this grounds for impeachment? > > As an aside, does anyone think that impeachment is a stupid word for this definition. The word has a fruit in it, but there is nothing peachy about the term. > > I am not saying that Obama smokes dope. He doesn’t 99.999% sure. He did spend our money like a crackhead on the bailout. > > President, VP, SZupreme court justice, any appalete justices and congressman including senators drug tested? I doubt it. However, what would happen if they refused. It isn’t like their boss is going to fire them… I am going with no. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2010, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-obama-pee-in-a-cup/558104/23 "2010-10-24T03:08:35Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Okay, that makes me think of a question that started bugging me a few years ago. The Constitution states that the President may not be involuntarily removed from office except upon impeachment by the HoR and conviction by the Senate. > > But does the Constitution _mandate_ that the penalty upon conviction _must_ be forfeiture of the office? Could a disapproving Congress/Senate impeach and convict a President, and follow up with say, a stern letter of Reprimand? > > I know it _seems_ silly to even contemplate it. And I’ll concede that such a course of events would be very damaging to the dignity of the office of the President, as well as the dignity of the Congress, Senate, Supreme Court, and even the Constitution. But is it possible for it to happen? There’s no settled answer here, but I think the answer is no. Article II, section 4 says that the President “shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of” one of the listed offenses. That sounds like removal is mandatory. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2010, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-obama-pee-in-a-cup/558104/24 "2010-10-24T13:59:35Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Also, the bailouts worked. You’re welcome. No it didn’t, my ass is still out of work, as is my roommate, and several friends of mine who also lost their job the same day I did [and from the same company.] If the bailouts had worked, where are the jobs? ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2010, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-obama-pee-in-a-cup/558104/25 "2010-10-24T14:10:36Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > No it didn’t, my ass is still out of work, as is my roommate, and several friends of mine who also lost their job the same day I did [and from the same company.] > > If the bailouts had worked, where are the jobs? > [@](#): > > The largest over-the-year jobless rate decrease in August was recorded > in Elkhart-Goshen, Ind. (-3.5 percentage points). Three additional areas > reported rate decreases of at least 2.0 percentage points: Florence-Mus- > cle Shoals, Ala., and Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, N.C. (-2.3 points each), > and Janesville, Wis. (-2.2 points). Yuma, Ariz., registered the largest > over-the-year unemployment rate increase (+4.3 percentage points). > **[Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment Summary - 2025 M08 Results](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/metro.nr0.htm)** eta: I’m not commenting on ‘whether the bailout worked’ just responding to the factual inquiry as to where jobs may be. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2010, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-obama-pee-in-a-cup/558104/26 "2010-10-24T14:23:28Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > No it didn’t, my ass is still out of work, as is my roommate, and several friends of mine who also lost their job the same day I did [and from the same company.] > > If the bailouts had worked, where are the jobs? People on this board often used to note that “the plural of anecdote is not data.” I wish we still did that. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2010, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-obama-pee-in-a-cup/558104/27 "2010-10-24T14:33:04Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Even Andrew Jackson’s famous “The Supreme Court made that rule, not let THEM enforce it” shows there’s little one can do. He never actually said that. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2010, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-obama-pee-in-a-cup/558104/28 "2010-10-24T14:49:18Z")
It’s only a minority of federal employees that are regularly drug-tested. There are several categories of employees that are tested, the largest being employees with security clearances: [http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/work/a/blsam040409.htm](http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/work/a/blsam040409.htm) ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2010, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-obama-pee-in-a-cup/558104/29 "2010-10-24T17:33:26Z")
> [@Captain\_Midnight](#): > > As an aside, does anyone think that impeachment is a stupid word for this definition. The word has a fruit in it, but there is nothing peachy about the term. For anyone whose curiosity may have been provoked, the verb _impeach_ comes from the French _empêcher_, now meaning to prevent but originally meaning to snare or prosecute, from the Latin _impedicare_, from _pedica_, a fetter, from _pes_, foot. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2010, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-obama-pee-in-a-cup/558104/30 "2010-10-24T20:52:29Z")
> [@Captain\_Midnight](#): > > He did spend our money like a crackhead on the bailout. > [@BlankSlate](#): > > He beg, stole and borrowed to buy one little, inexpensive item? > [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Also, the bailouts worked. You’re welcome. > [@aruvqan](#): > > No it didn’t, my ass is still out of work, as is my roommate, and several friends of mine who also lost their job the same day I did [and from the same company.] > > If the bailouts had worked, where are the jobs? [Moderator Note] Let’s not hijack this into a debate on the bailout. If you want to discuss that, please open a thread in GD. Please stick to the question of whether the president and other high office holders are subject to drug testing. **Captain Midnight,** I also note that political jabs are not permitted in GQ (for the reason that they lead to the kind of hijack that has been taking place in this thread). No warning issued, but don’t do this again. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-obama-pee-in-a-cup/558104/31 "2010-10-25T15:44:34Z")
As far as I understand neither the president nor the members of Congress (and other elected bodies) are government employees. They are elected officials. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-obama-pee-in-a-cup/558104/32 "2010-10-25T15:56:24Z")
IME, “required” drug testing always has a work-around. When my brother was in (a situation where drug testing became a requirement) he was given 45 day notice prior to each “random” test. He was considered necessary, and so that was the way it was handled. I accepted a job years ago and only after starting the job was I told there was mandatory random pee checks. I was outraged and told my boss no thanks. After much discussion between the higher-ups things were “smoothed out”. I had to submit a single sample at my leisure, after which the “random generator” would, for some reason, never choose me again. These two anecdotal situations suggest, to me anyway, that the President could achieve a similar work around. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-obama-pee-in-a-cup/558104/33 "2010-10-25T16:08:01Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > No it didn’t, my ass is still out of work, as is my roommate, and several friends of mine who also lost their job the same day I did [and from the same company.] > > If the bailouts had worked, where are the jobs? Nebraska. We’re sitting on a 4.6% unemployment rate. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-obama-pee-in-a-cup/558104/34 "2010-10-25T16:09:39Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > Impeachment is the more technical term for what most people call peach cobbler. > > I’m pretty sure. I refers to the process of _adding_ peaches to a dish or recipe. A bowl of cereal to which sliced peaches has been added has been impeached. Adding sliced pears to a dish is called “impairment”. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-obama-pee-in-a-cup/558104/35 "2010-10-25T16:12:59Z")
> [@Captain\_Midnight](#): > > The Presidency is a federal job. No, it’s a constitutional office. Elected officials are not federal employees. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-obama-pee-in-a-cup/558104/36 "2010-10-25T19:01:19Z")
> [@Captain\_Midnight](#): > > If the President (not Obama necessarily) was caught or was proven to smoke marijuana, is this grounds for impeachment? One of the interesting things about the Constitution is that it’s fairly vague on what constitutes grounds for impeachment (“Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors”). In essence, anything is grounds for impeachment if you can get enough Congresspeople to vote for it. You would not get the necessary votes over something as minor as smoking pot. Here’s a good resource for more info: [http://www.cftech.com/BrainBank/SPECIALREPORTS/impeachment.html](http://www.cftech.com/BrainBank/SPECIALREPORTS/impeachment.html) ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-obama-pee-in-a-cup/558104/37 "2010-10-26T01:05:56Z")
kayaker writes: \> When my brother was in (a situation where drug testing became a \> requirement) he was given 45 day notice prior to each “random” test. That’s not the case for federal jobs for which drug testing is required (which are, as I said, mostly jobs which require security clearances). You’re told as soon as you come in on the day on which you are randomly chosen that you should report to a particular office. There you give them a urine sample. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-obama-pee-in-a-cup/558104/38 "2010-10-26T14:08:22Z")
^^ I can say no more…☹ ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@Captain\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2010, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-obama-pee-in-a-cup/558104/39 "2010-10-27T11:07:11Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > No, it’s a constitutional office. Elected officials are not federal employees. I believe that you are correct, but since the President, V.P., Congress and The Supreme Court are paid by Federal tax dollars, how does this not make them Federal employees? What about the Joint Chiefs of Staff? Do they pee or not (in a cup)? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2010, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-obama-pee-in-a-cup/558104/40 "2010-10-27T11:14:52Z")
You seem unusually interested in discussing grown men peeing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-obama-pee-in-a-cup/558104.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-obama-pee-in-a-cup/558104.md?page=3)