One thing I like about Obama already

His honesty.

The 2008 presidential campaign isn't even a zygote yet, and the gotcha politics and garbage media coverage has already started. The big buzz about Barack Obama right now (at least according to Fox News, and they typically operate in an alternate, parallel universe anyway) is whether Obama's admission that he used drugs as a teen should disqualify him.

Absolutely not.

I'm tired of these types of questions asked of every candidate when they run for public office. The teenage years should probably be excluded entirely. We all make decisions we're not proud of as teens. Most of us then grow up, realize right from wrong, and become responsible adults. Okay, if someone committed murder or rape as a teenager, that's a different story, but aside from serious felonies, I'd love for the mainstream media to get beyond this type of "issues" reporting, and that goes for candidates of any party.

Every single closet has skeletons, and no one is perfect. Guess what? Obama's no exception. I love it that this issue is already out there for him, so there won't be some crank trying to make money off of Obama's candidacy or fame by selling his story to the National Enquirer or some other media outlet of ill repute. For some examples of this, you need look no further than Gennifer Flowers, Paula Jones or Donna Rice. It's a non-issue with Obama, as it should be, and his admission in his book 11 years ago assures that it will remain a non-issue. There are much more important questions that we should be asking our candidates who aspire to public office.

Let me clarify - I'm talking teenage years here - not coke snorting fiends who think it would be a good idea to run for the U.S. Senate. But, teenage years are different, and we shouldn't be excluding and crucifying candidates based on what they did as teens.

So, Obama is already something that both President Bush and President Clinton were not during their campaigns -- honest about drug use as young men. Clinton's "I didn't inhale" fiasco will live on in presidential lore -- what a stupid answer to an even dumber question. Clinton grew up in the 1960s, for Christsakes. Smoking pot during that era is about as exclusive as being a Chinese citizen.

And Bush was even less forthcoming during his '00 campaign when asked about the issue - he simply answered that he wasn't going to answer questions about his past when it came to drug use and rumors of his cocaine use. I've already stated that I feel it's irrelevant when talkin' teen/college years, but in his case, it was different. There were allegations that he was on the drug well into his 20s and early 30s. I have no idea whether it's true or not, and neither does the rest of the nation. And that's my point. The fact that he wouldn't answer it left many to believe that there was probably some guilt involved, but no one knows for sure.

Anyway, on to my point for bringing all of this up -- an example of contemporary media coverage of Obama and his past drug use. Surprise -- it's from Fox News, which recently ran a segment on "Obama's Cocaine Confession."

Their conversation took an unusual turn, however, when Fox reporter Kirian Chetry said President Bush had also admitted to using cocaine.

Obama "talks very candidly, as did our current president, who admitted to using cocaine, correct? [Listen to the others' hem and haw - hilarious] Well, who wrote, somebody wrote in a book -- well, he admitted that he had an alcoholic, he had a drinking problem. Who was it who said they witnessed him using cocaine? It was somebody who wrote a book..."

Ha! Start revising that résumé, Ms. Chetry. I love it how she rained all over this segment's parade, a segment that I'm sure was clearly aimed it slamming Obama and bringing up Clinton's drug use. But, it backfired when Chetry brought up Bush. Oops. Roger Ailes must have been pissed. Too bad.

The clip is below...



Anyway, this is just the kind of garbage that I wish the media would get past when reporting on presidential candidates (and any other candidate for public office, for that matter). Most Americans are sick and tired of it. But, I'm not holding my breath that this type of reporting is going to end anytime soon.