# Obama Smoking in the White House **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 12, 2008, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-smoking-in-the-white-house/472314 "2008-11-12T06:54:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-smoking-in-the-white-house/472314/41 "2008-11-12T12:18:28Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > I thought Obama quit smoking before the campaign began? Wasn’t that one of the conditions that Michelle put on him? You recall correctly > [@](#): > > “I’ve never been a heavy smoker,” Obama told the Chicago Tribune. “I’ve quit periodically over the last several years. I’ve got an ironclad demand from my wife that in the stresses of the campaign I don’t succumb. I’ve been chewing Nicorette strenuously.” > > Obama aides say that the main reason Michelle Obama has been pushing so hard for her husband to quit the demon weed is for health reasons, but of course for any public figure, one also has to factor in the image of the habit – either out of concerns he would be setting a bad example, or that he may turn off some voters. > **[Obama to Quit -- Smoking, That Is](https://abcnews.com/politics/Story?id=2855994&page=1)** ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-smoking-in-the-white-house/472314/42 "2008-11-12T12:35:54Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > I thought Obama quit smoking before the campaign began? Wasn’t that one of the conditions that Michelle put on him? Quitting is easy; it’s really the staying quit that’s tricky, according to Mark Twain and many others… ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-smoking-in-the-white-house/472314/43 "2008-11-12T13:11:56Z")
as a good dad i’m sure he would not smoke around his children. esp. near one who has allergies. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-smoking-in-the-white-house/472314/44 "2008-11-12T14:47:22Z")
> [@rikc](#): > > I’m getting my impeachin’ shoes fitted already! Too late. Impeach Obama sites are already being started. The honeymoon is over. As Rush pointed out, the Obama recession is already going on. How much longer can we allow his mismanagement to continue. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-smoking-in-the-white-house/472314/45 "2008-11-12T15:28:00Z")
It’s a moot point. If the President of the United States and Commander-in-Chief wants to smoke in the Oval Office, no one’s going to tell him he can’t. That said, I’m sure in the interest of good PR and for the sake of his advisors, he won’t. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-smoking-in-the-white-house/472314/46 "2008-11-12T16:09:51Z")
The whole question is moot since Obama quit smoking over a year ago. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-smoking-in-the-white-house/472314/47 "2008-11-12T16:23:09Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > The whole question is moot since Obama quit smoking over a year ago. Not true. He’s already broken his promise to his wife. [From ABC News June 10,2008](http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/06/obama-admits-sm.html) > [@](#): > > ABC News’ Sunlen Miller Reports: Senator Barack Obama told reporters in St. Louis today that he has fallen off the wagon and smoked cigarettes in the last few months. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-smoking-in-the-white-house/472314/48 "2008-11-12T16:36:17Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > He’s already broken his promise to his wife. :rolleyes: He’s admitted to having a cigarette here and there but has presumably cut down on the habit in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![wmfellows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c2a13f/32.png) [@wmfellows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wmfellows)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-smoking-in-the-white-house/472314/49 "2008-11-12T16:46:20Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > Not true. > > He’s already broken his promise to his wife. > > [From ABC News June 10,2008](http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/06/obama-admits-sm.html) Dutchie mate, may I suggest the words “Mountain” and “Molehill” come to mind in your writing on this? I mean I can understand finding the Palin item irritating, but … ---
**Author:** ![ManiacMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b782af/32.png) [@ManiacMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ManiacMan)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-smoking-in-the-white-house/472314/50 "2008-11-12T16:46:45Z")
> [@ShermanAter](#): > > If he wants to huff down an occasional Marlboro Light in his office, that is his business. If it is against the law then he needs to follow the law. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-smoking-in-the-white-house/472314/51 "2008-11-12T16:52:32Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > Not true. > > He’s already broken his promise to his wife. > > [From ABC News June 10,2008](http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/06/obama-admits-sm.html) It later came out that his little slips off the wagon had occurred 9-10 months prior to the article in June (which itself was 5 months ago), and that he hadn’t fallen again. That adds up to more than a year smoke-free, and even that’s just nitpicking a couple of minor relapses. He initially quit in 2006. Trying to spin it as a “breaking a promise to his wife” is really lame, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-smoking-in-the-white-house/472314/52 "2008-11-12T16:59:52Z")
> [@ManiacMan](#): > > If it is against the law then he needs to follow the law. It’s not against the law. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-smoking-in-the-white-house/472314/53 "2008-11-12T17:01:30Z")
OBAMA AS WAR WITH IRAN LOOMS: Boy, I sure picked the wrong week to quit smokin’! ---
**Author:** ![ASAKMOTSD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@ASAKMOTSD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASAKMOTSD)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-smoking-in-the-white-house/472314/54 "2008-11-12T17:05:42Z")
I think the real question is whether he is allowed to smoke while wearing Sarah Palin’s second hand clothes. When that happens, get back to me please. I need a chuckle. ---
**Author:** ![Minnie\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Minnie\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Minnie_Luna)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-smoking-in-the-white-house/472314/55 "2008-11-12T17:19:18Z")
Why don’t we ask Laura Bush where she smokes in the White House? ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-smoking-in-the-white-house/472314/56 "2008-11-12T17:57:32Z")
> [@Minnie\_Luna](#): > > Why don’t we ask Laura Bush where she smokes in the White House? I was getting ready to ask that. If the film “W” is to be believed (we’re dealing with an Oliver Stone film here, so that’s a big “if”) Laura is a heavy smoker, and George used to smoke. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-smoking-in-the-white-house/472314/57 "2008-11-12T18:17:45Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > I was getting ready to ask that. If the film “W” is to be believed (we’re dealing with an Oliver Stone film here, so that’s a big “if”) Laura is a heavy smoker, and George used to smoke. From [National Review](http://www.nationalreview.com/interrogatory/kessler200604032246.asp) > [@](#): > > Laura occasionally sneaks a cigarette with friends. In 1994 and 1995, she totally quit a lifelong smoking habit. When asked by the media, she would honestly say that it was “difficult” to quit. But after 1995, Laura went back to bumming cigarettes from friends, though never in front of George or her staff. At the White House, she might step outside on the Truman Balcony to take a few puffs. At the ranch, she might occasionally light up on the porch. > > “She is a stress smoker,” said her friend Anne Stewart. “She still bums a cigarette.” > > “If she is sitting around with some friends and they are smoking, she may smoke,” longtime Bush friend Dr. Charles Younger, an orthopedic surgeon, said. “She wouldn’t tell you she never does it, but it’s not an image she would like to promote as a healthy habit from the First Lady who is supposed to be perfect.” W smoked when he was younger but, according to Laura, quit when he took up jogging because it was cutting his wind. ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-smoking-in-the-white-house/472314/58 "2008-11-12T19:30:05Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > OBAMA AS WAR WITH IRAN LOOMS: Boy, I sure picked the wrong week to quit smokin’! OBAMA DISCOVERING IRAN HAS WORKING NUKES: Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-smoking-in-the-white-house/472314/59 "2008-11-12T19:34:53Z")
> [@Agent\_Foxtrot](#): > > It’s a moot point. If the President of the United States and Commander-in-Chief wants to smoke in the Oval Office, no one’s going to tell him he can’t. > > That said, I’m sure in the interest of good PR and for the sake of his advisors, he won’t. This. If it was a big enough deal to him, wouldn’t he be able to pop out an executive order and make it legal to smoke in the WH, regardless if it was banned by a previous Pres? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-smoking-in-the-white-house/472314/60 "2008-11-12T19:39:14Z")
I think there’s another person who would have veto power over Barack being able to lift the ban on smoking in the White House and her initials are M.O. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-smoking-in-the-white-house/472314.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-smoking-in-the-white-house/472314.md?page=4)