Obama was prodded a bit further and asked whether or not he had ever inhaled.

“I did,” the senator from Illinois said to light applause. “It’s not something I’m proud of. It was a mistake as a young man.”

The question was a reference to a line made famous by former President Bill Clinton who, while admitting to trying marijuana, said he did not inhale.

“I never understood that line,” Obama continued. “The point was to inhale. That was the point.”

Herein lies the ultimate truth of American politics: we don’t really care about the big issues in the grander context of things. Sure, we want our candidates to say the right buzzwords and make the right promises when they’re on the campaign trail, but we don’t really hold them to their promises after they’re elected. What we really care about is crap like this; stuff that makes us think we understand the character of a person. This was huge in 2000, and all I have to say about it is: look where we are now voting on character.

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