Does Obama's cigarette smoking bother you?

Listen. The whole smoking thing has been blown way out of whack. I am in my 50's, I don't smoke, but both my parents smoked, pretty much all their friends smoked and they all smoked around us "kids" everywhere: in the house, in the car, at parties, in restaraunts etc, etc, etc.on a constant basis. Even my Grandparents smoked (both are in their 90's now..and in good health). Now I'm not advocating smoking. I'm glad it's a habit I never started, and I am not saying it's a good thing to do...I know it's not healthy..(neither is skydiving)but I'll tell you...out of all the "kids" of the people I know that were constantly exposed to cig smoke (there are at least 60 or so of us between family members and friends) not one of them has any sort of lung problem..and only 1 of their parents gets bronchitis in the winter. So my point is, I think we are all being manipulated by fear and in the end it just took away another right of ours individually and as business owners. It is ridiculous to me the extent that some states are going to ..banning smoking even in the outdoors..and in some cases in your own home. People, we have got to wake up! We are allowing this and perpetuating it with our attitudes towards smokers! Look around you...in your car, your home, your workplace, outside, you are breathing in all kinds of chemicals everyday. Next there will be a ban on using your grill, burning a fire in your fireplace, forced to drive on a limited basis,limit alcohol, etc. Next the food you eat is going to be monitored. What happened to our right to decide for ourselves? I have always used my own right to decide when it came to being next to a smoker or not. I have used my right to choose whether or not to sit in the smoking or non smoking section of an establishment. If I didn't like the place then I wouldn't go to it. SIMPLE. Again I am not advocating smoking, I am advocating freedom to choose. I am concerned how easily we are all so easily manipulated and jump on the bandwagon of a cause that I feel is now getting out of control, without thinking logically and realizing what is really happening here. I am concerned of how a group of people were so easily ostrosized, belittled and pretty much thought to be scum for lack of a better word all through manipulation by the media. HYSTERIA concerns me. I am concerned that many do not see the true meaning behind these "bans."

As for Obama smoking...lol. Give me a break. Let the man do his job and don't worry about whether he smokes, eats too much,,,etc. It's simply ridiculous!!

OK, are we really going to look at Obama's health versus that of McCain?

Because he appears healthy and vibrant, his smoking past is not the issue. His candidacy is based upon whether or not he possesses the right stuff for the Oval Office.

Because McCain has, in both his Presidential bids, been open and candid about his health issues - remember that he was a POW from the Viet Nam era - his candidacy is based upon whether or not he possesses the right stuff AND the physical stamina. McCain has the added mark of age going against him.

All I really care about is who has the right stuff.

Do you really think the American voter seriously considers whether or not Obama's smoking past makes him more or less Presidential than McCain?

There is a long history of Presidential candidates hiding their health problems. Franklin Roosevelt didn't want to appear weak to the public, in spite of his polio. We elected Jack Kennedy, in spite of his chronic back problems, not knowing he actually had Addison's disease. Eisenhower had a heart attack, a stroke and an abdominal operation all within two years. Grover Cleveland secretly underwent surgery removing the roof of his mouth due to carcinoma. Ronald Reagan lost a lot of lucidity during the later part of his term - we were sympathetic because of the assassination attempt, but didn't know he was suffering the early affects of Alzheimer's.

Were you to check the health histories of our Founding Fathers and first Presidents, you'd be alarmed at the depression and heart disease, among some other pretty scary health issues, that ravaged them. George Washington suffered from: "Malaria, smallpox, tuberculosis, dysentery, boils (carbuncles), tooth loss, hearing loss, presbyopia, infertility, quinsy, pneumonia, epiglottitis or strep infection of the larynx."

We would balk at the risk of electing a President who could not fulfill the requirements of his office, communicate on our behalf, represent us to our global society or defend us against our many adversaries. We would hardly balk at a guy who recently quit smoking.

While health may be an issue that some of our candidates, like McCain, want to make a "non-issue," we're more concerned about qualities like leadership and morality, even by association. Frankly, I'd rather elect someone who admits to a health issue than one who claims to not have inhaled. I think it's great that McCain is leading the way to breaking tradition with hiding a troublesome health past.

Whom I choose to vote for, however, will depend entirely upon my preference over candidates based on what I believe their qualifications are for the office, not the waiting room.

and Obama is no different. Bush was a former alcoholic who many would argue still has addictive tendencies. Cheney could drop dead at any moment. McCain would be 72 when he took the oath of office if he wins, and we know that age and sex alone dramatically increase the risk for heart disease and stroke. He also had a previous encounter with skin cancer and has the scars to prove it. Both of those things would trouble me more than Obama's past as a smoker.

Everyone has health issues, and presidential candidates are no exception. This surely doesn't top the list of my concerns, as the risk of anyone dying at 46 is quite low, smoker or not. This country has much more pressing concerns...