Smoking Makes Obama Human ... If a Bad Role Model

President congratulates those trying to quit

(NEWSER) - President Obama congratulated those who are making plans to quit smoking today as part of the Great American Smokeout, wryly acknowledging that “quitting smoking is hard—believe me, I know.” He also slammed Big Tobacco for attempting to block new cigarette warning labels “because they don’t want to be honest about the consequences of using their products. Unfortunately, this isn’t surprising.” Click for more on a smoke-free Obama's health . More»

White House Flickr photo seems to indicate that he is

(NEWSER) - Did the debt ceiling debate drive President Obama back to the arms of ... Nicorette? Politico's sharp-eyed Josh Gerstein spotted what appears to be a piece of the nicotine gum in a photo recently posted on the official White House Flickr stream. In the picture, Obama is having a phone conversation about the debt limit with Nancy Pelosi as Joe Biden and others watch. "It's tough to blame the guy, what with the Tea Party nonsense and all," writes Joe Coscarelli in New York . "But at this point, Obama's image might actually benefit if he just went straight for the Marlboro Reds." Click to see the photo , with the suspected piece of gum conveniently highlighted. More»

Jimmy Carter, Barack Obama, and FDR take top spots

(NEWSER) - Ask 43 conservative bloggers to name the worst Americans of all time, as Right Wing News did, and the results aren't kind to Jimmy Carter. The top 5:

1. Jimmy Carter
2. Barack Obama
3. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
4. Ethel and Julius Rosenberg
5. (tie) Woodrow Wilson, Benedict Arnold

GOP can check rush toward big government

(NEWSER) - The “day of reckoning” has come for Republicans, writes William Kristol in the Washington Post. On Tuesday, President Obama delivered “the most unabashedly liberal and big-government speech” since Lyndon Johnson, and seems poised to undo the whole Reagan agenda. “Conservatives can’t win politically right now,” says Kristol. Their only hope is to “find reasons to obstruct and delay” Obama’s agenda. More»

President stakes his legacy on ending economic crisis

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama's address to Congress last night “staked his presidency on bringing the nation out of its economic crisis,” writes Steven Pearlstein in the Washington Post. Not since FDR have citizens been so desperate for economic leadership, and yesterday's speech made clear that Obama plans to reshape American capitalism with a bold program equal to the historical challenge. More»