quotd
This was classic:
"But as habits go, Mr. Obama's smoking is less annoying than John Kerry's poetry-writing and less odd than George Bush's obsessive brush-clearing. American will have to resign themselves to the fact that no one is perfect, not even Mr. Obama. It has also emerged that his middle name is Hussein, and that his ears stick out. If this is the worst that can be said, so much the better for him."
--The Economist, January 20th-26th, 2007
Wait, Obama smokes? That sucks.
Perhaps, although he's apparently trying to quit.
The smoking doesn't really bother me, although I still have mixed feelings about Obama. He hasn't actually done much in the Senate, mainly because he can't do anything with only two years' experience. He's certainly charismatic, but I believe in ignoring charisma whenever possible. It's also unclear whether he will cave in to the protectionist, "old-school-liberal" wing of the Democratic party. If he does that, I won't be caught dead supporting the man--unless the Republicans cave in to the religious fundamentalists and anti-environmentalists. But if I really ended up being indifferent between Obama and his opponent, I'd vote for him as a generally good guy and fellow resident of Hyde Park--silly as that may seem.