It's Official

"MR. BROKAW: Finally, Mr. President-elect, the White House is a no-smoking zone, and when you were asked about this recently by Barbara Walters, I read it very carefully, you ducked. Have you stopped smoking?

"PRES.-ELECT OBAMA: You know, I have, but what I said was that, you know, there are times where I've fallen off the wagon. Well...

"MR. BROKAW: Well, wait a minute.

"PRES.-ELECT OBAMA: ...what can I tell...

"MR. BROKAW: Then that means you haven't stopped.

"PRES.-ELECT OBAMA: Well, the--fair enough. What I would say is, is that I have done a terrific job under the circumstances of making myself much healthier, and I think that you will not see any violations of these rules in the White House."

The press has now been tougher on Barack Obama over his smoking than over Jeremiah Wright, William Ayers, the Born-Alive Infants Act, and his bigoted comments about small-town Americans combined.