Senator speaks out on history of drugs to students, confronted with criticisms about being too honest
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama seems to be the new Bill Clinton. Only Obama is more honest than our beloved 42nd president—a little too honest, according to Mitt Romney. The Republican rival thinks Obama’s statements made during a recent speech to high school students regarding his past drug use were a bit too truthful, according to CNN.
Obama told the high schoolers that while he was in high school, he experimented with drugs and alcohol, but once he got to college, he realized drugs weren’t worth it.
Not only did Obama connect with this audience of teens and young adults by honestly admitting his drug activity when he was their age, but he also stressed to the students that he has since cleaned up his act, and that he rose above those activities to become a successful lawyer, senator and now presidential candidate. Most if any of the students he spoke to couldn’t even vote, and he was still honest with them.
Romney is quoted in the CNN article as saying, “I think in order to leave the best possible example for our kids, we’re probably wisest not to talk about our own indiscretions in great detail.” Great philosophy, Romney—but you won’t be getting my vote, because how do I know you’re not keeping things from us?
A lot of public officials get in trouble when they “forget” or omit certain facts about their pasts or personalities that seem to surface while their in office and bite them in the behind. When Clinton was confronted with the question of whether he ever did drugs, he stammered through a confession, saying he didn’t like doing drugs and he didn’t even inhale. Even during his office as governor of Texas, good ol’ George Bush admitted that things he did in his past were not relevant to the here-and-now.
But things from the past are part of who you are and have probably shaped who you are now. Obama realizes that it’s better to throw things into the open when enjoying the limelight than the public finding out about it in other ways.
Let’s be realistic. Last year, a survey conducted by Monitoring the Future concluded that a little more than 42 percent of high school seniors reported lifetime, or regular, use of marijuana. This shows that drug use in high schools and elsewhere is a very real issue that involves a lot of young people.
So what’s wrong with an adult leveling with a handful of young people about such an important issue? Instead of giving us excuses like Clinton, or completely ignoring the questions like Bush, Obama was about as truthful as he could be regarding his past with drugs.
Forty-five percent of Americans would be less likely to support a candidate for president who had used drugs, according to a 2007 Pew Research poll. Well, welcome to the other 55 percent. I say if candidates dare to divulge the public in their past—even if it does involve hanging around Mary Jane—it’s better than trying to hide part of who a candidate is or was. The best candidate is the most honest one, not the one who tries to prove they’re the best goody-two-shoes.
This is so much more than Obama saying he smoked some reefer when he was younger. This is about a candidate admitting he’s no better than the rest of the public, and that he faces the same issues that are part of the average public’s lives.
Maybe more candidates should show us the person behind the platforms and agendas, and should reveal their personalities just as flagrantly as their opposition to the other party. Maybe more candidates should be like Obama.
Anna Young is a sophomore SMAD and sociology major.
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