Puff piece

The issue everyone seems to tiptoe around:

But in the Rose Garden at the White House, as he signed one of the nation's most aggressive anti-smoking provisions into law, Mr. Obama did something he almost never does. He talked about his addiction to smoking.

“I know. I was one of those teenagers,” Mr. Obama said, standing before dozens of anti-smoking activists, legislators and children who were invited to watch the bill-signing ceremony. “I know how difficult it can be to break this habit once you've started.”

There are fewer touchier questions inside the White House than this: Is Mr. Obama still smoking? One administration official declined to answer on Monday, but pointed out that the president spoke in the present tense, “I know how difficult it can be to break this habit,” as opposed to, “I know how difficult it was to break this habit.”

The answer is that of course he's still smoking. Anybody who's listened to any of the networks talk about it knows that -- they all say the president "has struggled with smoking" or "is struggling" with it or some similar locution. As an addict myself, I know that "struggling" is a euphemism for "no, I have not been able to quit yet, but I don't want to talk about it, so shut up." If we understand anything about this administration, it is that the friendly press will be eager to help the president with his euphemisms.

And do as he says, not as he does, OK?