News reports are going wild about a revelation, published as recently as 11 years ago that Barack Obama has taken drugs in the past. And the information is coming from as trusted and confidential a source as Obama himself. Obama made these confessions in his memoir "Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance". There are only 800,000 copies in print.
The Washington Post has provided this scoop, reporting that "...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." Well, yes. And of course, much more scrutiny when it gets written about in the Washington Post. And then subsequently reported all over other news networks including FOX and NBC.
So does it matter what happened in his life 20 or more years ago? There appears to be little doubt that the 45 year old Obama has strong family values, has been a solid public representative, and conducts himself with dignity in public life.
One thing that can be said for this "news" - it's out in the public domain early. It will be much harder to get traction on this issue when it's not news to the wider public.
Not to mention that the scoop for the story is Obama himself. What, honesty in a politician? The legs on this story will drop off when it is recognised that yes, Obama tried drugs, many years ago, and in the meantime has attended Harvard Law School, been elected to the State Legislature, become a United States Senator and is now a serious contender for the Presidency.
Lets all move on to the real issues. There is no doubt that the "experience" issue will be next on the agenda.
There are murmurings that Hillary is expecting the Obama poll surge to decline after questions are raised about Obama's perceived lack of time in Washington, combined with a limited time dealing with foreign affairs matters.
We hear rumours that this story will break shortly.
The Non-Issue Issue
