Having just heard recently, that cancer is going to replace heart disease as the number one cause of death in places like China and India - thanks to smoking - I am not sure why Rosenbaum thinks that smoking is not such a big issue facing the world. Way more people will be dying of lung cancer than terrorist attacks. How many initiatives can claim to improve your health and increase your lifespan while saving you money?

The other thing to consider is that Obama's mother died in her 50s - from cancer. So, it is possible that Obama has a susceptibility to cancer, and the susceptibility combined with smoking may well be lethal. Would Mr. Rosenbaum be as blase about Obama's smoking habits if Mr. Obama was diagnosed with cancer while in office?

Tolerance for smoking seems to the be one thing that some liberals pounce on as proof that they are not just "goody-two-shoes". This same attitude prompts thousands of young people to take up smoking. It is not OK.