With the presidential election coming up, there is a lot of public scrutiny on each of the persons vying for their party nomination. In the case of Barack Obama, people want to know everything they can about the man, even things that have no relevance to his credentials when it comes to being a president. For example, quite a few people are interested in whether or not Barack Obama smokes.

Now, you would think that if the man is in the habit of lighting up a lot, there would be no problem obtaining pictures of Barack Obama smoking. Yet, there have not been any showing up on television or in magazines. At the same time, you have to wonder what asking the question “does Obama smoke cigarettes?” have to do with what type of president he would make. Does it not seem more important to ask how he feels about such things as the national debt, the war, the relationships of the United States with other countries, and what he would do to improve all of these?

Perhaps instead of trying to catch Barack Obama smoking, some time could be spent making his voting record in Congress more accessible to American citizens. Finding out what charities Obama chooses to support, and how he feels about the welfare system and the homeless in this country might accomplish more. Assuming there is such a thing as an Obama smoking picture somewhere, doesn’t it pale in comparison to all the matters that a competent president would need to address?

Why the Obama smoker rumors have come up so early in the process is anyone’s guess. Of course it does beg one question. What is it about Obama that people want to call attention away from? Is there something about his way of doing things or something that he is about to do that deserves the attention of the public, and his detractors do not want people to see him in a favorable light?

Whether Obama smokes or whether the Obama smoker thing is nothing but a rumor designed to pull attention away from more important matters, the sad fact is that too many people will focus in on this type of tabloid journalism. This one thing, no matter what they might think of his political record will determine their entire opinion of Barack Obama. Therein lies the real shame, and very possibly may be the reason we end up with a president that was not the best choice after all.