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Being the first candidate to admit to cocaine use that is:
Long before the national media spotlight began to shine on every twist and turn of his life’s journey, Barack Obama ad this to say about himself: “Junkie. Pothead. That’s where I’d been headed: the final, fatal role of the young would-be black man. . . . I got high [to] push questions of who I was out of my mind.”
The Democratic senator from Illinois and likely presidential candidate offered the confession in a memoir written 11 years ago, not long after he graduated from law school and well before he contemplated life on the national stage. At the time, 20,000 copies were printed and the book seemed destined for the remainders stacks.
Today, Obama, 45, is near the top of polls on potential Democratic presidential contenders, and “Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance” has regularly been on the bestseller lists, with 800,000 copies in print. Taken along with his latest bestseller, “The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream,” Obama has become a genuine publishing phenomenon.
Obama’s revelations were not an issue during his Senate campaign two years ago. But now his open narrative of early, bad choices, including drug use starting in high school and ending in college, as well as his tortured search for racial identity, are sure to receive new scrutiny.
As a potential candidate, Obama has presented himself as a fresh voice offering a politics of hope. Many say he offers something new in American politics: an African American with a less-than-traditional name who has so far demonstrated broad appeal. What remains to be seen is whether the candor he offered in his early memoir will be greeted with a new-style acceptance by voters.
It was not so long ago that such blunt admissions would have led to a candidate’s undoing, and there is uneasiness in Democratic circles that “Dreams From My Father” will provide a blueprint for negative attacks.
Through his book, Obama has become the first potential presidential contender to admit trying cocaine.
A senior Republican strategist who will be advising a GOP presidential candidate in 2008 said he did not see anything in the book that would be a “disqualifier,” but he cautioned that Obama has not yet gone through an intense vetting process and that a problem could arise if there is more to his story than he has chosen to share. The strategist, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, also suggested that there will be high tolerance for marijuana use among voters because many baby boomers probably tried the drug in the ’60s.
“Who’s going to cast that first stone?” asked Anita Dunn, a veteran Democratic political consultant, who has advised Obama’s political committee.
I am torn on this one. One one hand, I believe that the electorate has been inoculated against such revelations by the youthful indiscretions of our past 2 presidents (Dubya never admitted that he used cocaine though).
However, many people do make a distinction between smoking a little pot in your youth and using cocaine.
What does everyone think? Let’s continue this discussion in the comments…
Hat-tip to Decision ‘08
January 4th, 2007 at 12:08 pm
I think this could be a vunerability for Obama, but not directly.
If Obama is taken to task for admitted cocaine use, this issue could create a lot of noise on the cable talk shows, and could create fodder for any number of attack ads and nasty bumper stickers, but I don’t think it will move any of the people who could swing this election.
On the other hand, Obama’s history could put him in a box if congressional Republicans start to vigorously push “tough on drugs” legislation. Obama could either vote against the bills (which is never popular politically) or vote for them and be criticized for hypocricy (not for drug use itself, don’t you know, so its OK).
January 4th, 2007 at 12:36 pm
“On the other hand, Obama’s history could put him in a box if congressional Republicans start to vigorously push “tough on drugs†legislation. Obama could either vote against the bills (which is never popular politically) or vote for them and be criticized for hypocricy (not for drug use itself, don’t you know, so its OK).”
That had never occurred to me. Good point.
I agree though that very few voters will ultimately be persuaded by this.
January 4th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
As I have stated before, for me the statute of limitations for stupidity is about ten years. What I am concerned with is who we are looking at today, not the callow youth of 1995. What I see of Obama now, today doesn’t impress me, I am afraid.
January 4th, 2007 at 1:23 pm
There’s a lot of “interesting” things like this about Obama’s past that will begin to surface as he gets closer and closer.
January 4th, 2007 at 1:27 pm
Sean, Kavon,
Not that I’m an Obama fan, but how would it be hypocritical for him to vote for “tough on drugs” legislation? Any politician worth his salt could make an extremely convincing case for the dangers of drugs from a first-hand perspective. This is a vice that Obama has long since left behind and he is now reformed. Throw in a little victim talk, and he’d be a hero.
January 4th, 2007 at 2:11 pm
murphy:
My argument is not whether or no such a position would be hypocritical, my argument is that he could be effectively painted as one.
The hypocricy charge was the charge levied on Bush when the allegations of cocaine use were levied against him back in 2000 by everyone from bushwatch.com and other lefty websites to Newsweek and US News & World Report. Its a bit late in the game for these same people to suddenly advocate the position you are advocating.
January 4th, 2007 at 2:31 pm
Its a bit late in the game for these same people to suddenly advocate the position you are advocating.
Now that certainly won’t stop them, will it? And who could criticize Obama after he gives a teary-eyed speech about the trials of his drug hazed youth, and the personal awakening and rebirth (sure to be couched in religious terms by the way) in overcoming that youth? Not the left, as he is on their side. So would it be us? I’m not sure that the right wouldn’t get more mud on ourselves than on Obama.
January 5th, 2007 at 2:36 pm
murphy: I can certainly see things playing out as you describe them, but I can also see this issue hurting Obama in the manner I hypothicised. Unfortunately, my crystal ball is broken at the moment, so I guess we’ll just have to see how things turn out.
January 6th, 2007 at 11:00 pm
Obama doing cocaine? Probably will help his prospects in the liberal party. Certainly did not hurt Bill when he claimed “I did not inhale!”
This won’t hurt him in the primaries at all, could be damaging in the general election.
January 7th, 2007 at 9:32 am
Keep in mind, also, that this isn’t the 80’s when a little weed was enough to keep Ginsburg off the Supreme Court. There are a lot more voters today who came of age in the 80s and 90s, not to mention those from the free-for-all 60s, who don’t see past drug use as the career-ending scandal it once was. In fact, many will see it as a way to relate to a candidate, similar to the way Bush was the guy people wanted to sit in a bar and have a beer with. The drug thing will be less damaging to Obama than his shady finances, which the average working American cannot relate to and therefore will be more apt to hold against him.