Obama & Drugs

Reporter: Mr. Clinton, did you inhale?
Clinton: No!!

Flash forward to October 2008

Reporter: Mr. Obama, did you inhale?
Obama: Yes, I did. I wrote about this in my book.
Reporter: At what age did you stop taking drugs?
Obama: Well, it is in my book that I took some drugs
while at Occidental College. You know, almost all
students were taking stuff in those days.
Reporter: Did you ever share some pot with others?
Obama: (Getting a bit red and peeved) What do you think.
Obviously, when you have a joint people pass it
around.
Reporter: Did you ever sell or procure drugs for others?
Obama: Well...
Campaign Spokesperson: Okay, that is enough questions for
today.

Sooner or later, the issue was going to come up. Who knew it would come from a fellow Democrat and before any votes had been cast in the long primary season. New Hampshire political boss, Bill Shaheen, a prominent Clinton co-chair, brought the issue up before anyone else. Peering into the dark future, Shaheen claimed that Obama's admitted use of drugs would become the hammer the GOP would use to drive Obama's candidacy into a coffin.

A politico like Shaheen (the husband of former New Hampshire governor, Jeanne Shaheen), does not make such sweeping and drastic statements without some encouragement from top Clinton national advisers. The issue is cutting two ways. First, the Clinton campaign sensing a loss of momentum, has gone quickly into panic mode by attacking statements Obama made way back in kindergarten and scaring people with the specter of a black man taking drugs. This low ball approach is way off the mark for a prominent person such as Hillary. Indeed, Shaheen has been thrown out of the campaign and Clinton had to make a personal apology to Obama.

But secondly, and at a much deeper level, it does bring up an attack line that the GOP will most definitely use if Obama is the Democratic candidate. Obama has not held executive positions, so the "Willie Horton" scare tactic will not work on him. However, the Republicans will look back to the recent Tennessee senatorial race where African-American Harold Ford Jr. lost all momentum when the opposition threw on the screen an ad of a white woman calling out to Ford. Just the scant reminder of cross race sexual hi-jinks was enough to stop Ford from victory. The GOP will scan all of Obama's admitted offenses in his two well received books and play up the black man angle.

The horror of this story is that fellow Democrats (Clinton's campaign team) have planted this possible seed of destruction upon one of their very own.