wretchard @ 6: If politicians are fundamentally controlled by the societies to which they are accountable, then they will act as rational agents of that society. Once control is lost, they’ll act like grifters.

Oh, great stuff, w!

But, now, back to our program.

I don’t know what to make of the Obama-barges-in story. Is it possible that Obama is that big a clown, and if so, assuming it is actually rational for him, how do we take that? Is this a Jesse Jackson, community organizer, kind of move? Did Obama’s cohorts support this move or try to restrain him?

I have heard the echoes of this in the government-controlled press, as Rush calls it, “We don’t need to stinkin’ Copenhagen, all those stupid little countries, all that really matters is the US and China anyway.” Though if I have any accurate view of China at all, they would view these actions by Obama as entirely bizarre and unrespectable, no matter the results. And I certainly do not see Obama as results-oriented – which is why I cannot really credit the story in the first place. Something is wrong with the telling, I strongly suspect.

I mean, ………. drugs? Is Obama still smoking, or is he addled by Chantix, or what?

These events have occurred in patients with and without pre-existing psychiatric disease. Patients with serious psychiatric illness such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder did not participate in the pre-marketing studies of CHANTIX and the safety and efficacy of CHANTIX in such patients has not been established.

Advise patients and caregivers that the patient should stop taking CHANTIX and contact a healthcare provider immediately if agitation, hostility, depressed mood, or changes in behavior or thinking that are not typical for the patient are observed, or if the patient develops suicidal ideation or suicidal behavior.

This is of course the purest speculation on my part, I have not even a rumor to the effect that it might be true.