I didn't comment on this right away, but I figured I'd have to eventually once other people did, and I saw their quite typical reactions.  Obama used to do cocaine.  More importantly, he came right out and admitted it, in an 11 year old memoir.  Reactions from both sides are not at all surprising.  Many people are comparing this to Bush and Clinton.  Clinton smoked pot, but claimed he "never inhaled"... yeah right.  Bush simply stonewalled and hid the truth... which more than likely was that he drank like a fish, and there are also rumors he did cocaine as well.

You'd think politicians would be smarter than that.  Not about the doing drugs part, but about hiding their past, and expecting it not to bite them.  Both Bush and Clinton took hits because of it.  Don't they know that the scandal of hiding something is always worse than thing you're trying to hide in the first place?  Did nobody learn the lessons of Watergate?  How many times as a parent did each of them tell their children that it's better to be honest about something right away, because lying about it will only cause more problems later?  Maybe they never told their kids that... I thought that was a standard parental lecture.  I guess it's do as I say, not as I do.

I think that the reactions that people have to Obama's drug use are especially relevant to the War on Drugs.  People use drugs.  Fact.  What do we do about them?  The typical drug warrior first wants to throw them in jail, and then stigmatize that person for life, and making meaningful recovery that much harder.  Yeah, cause that will win the drug war.

But here have a former addict, who successfully quit, has turned his life around in a meaningful way, and has become very successful in life.  This is hard for a drug warrior to accept.  We have to stigmatize!  We have to make this person out as the sign of everything wrong with society!  But why?!  He is honest about his past, and proud of what he has done since then, as he should be.  I would submit that if Bush and Clinton had done the exact same thing, they would have fared better regarding drugs. 

Jessica McBride disagrees.  More over, she says:

Actually, a better message for young people would be not to try "a little blow" in the first place. Funny, but a lot of underprivileged high schoolers make it to adulthood without using pot, booze, or "blow."

And while she's right, but a lot of high schoolers do try it.  And what message should we send them?  You did it once, and so you will always be a bad person who can't be successful in life?  It shows just how detached from reality people like Jessica are.  People do drugs because drugs feel good... really good.  When people describe using cocaine as having a "whole body orgasm", is it really that surprising that people would do it?  Hello.  My personal opinion, which comes from watching the effects of cocaine on people I love, is that the price you eventually pay for that pleasure is too high.  That's why I've never touched it myself.  But to pretend like that pleasure can't be a draw is just absolutely stupid.

The problem with Bush and Clinton wasn't their drug use... it was lying about drug use.  In essence, it shows that you really aren't fully recovered from your addiction, because you can't admit to it.  That is step one, in any 12 step program.  Obama has shown he is fully recovered from his addiction, and I think serves as an excellent role model for former drug users.  I can say that even though I disagree with his particular brand of politics.  I think everyone should be able to say that.