Turn On, Tune In, Cop Out

The days when drug use could derail a Supreme Court nomination or make a hairsplitting presidential candidate look ridiculous are long gone, Hendrik Hertzberg writes in the New Yorker, and Barack Obama has broken yet another barrier: He is apparently "marginally less of a pothead than he has made himself out to be."

Hertzberg uses the prism of a recent New York Times account of the "big news, or bit news, about Obama and drugs" to tackle the issue. John McCain seems “downright apologetic” in explaining his lack of stoner credentials, “sheepishly” offering a generational excuse: “Remember my age.” But if honesty is now the best policy, Hertzberg asks, why are 700,000 Americans arrested each year for pot possession? (More Barack Obama stories.)