Opinion: Was President Obama really chewing gum during the memorial service for Joplin’s tornado victims?

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Barely returned from his four-nation trip to Europe, President Obama flew to Missouri on the holiday weekend for the memorial service to the victims lost in the area’s mammoth storms last week.

Then, in this video clip, after the sermon the television cameras turned to the president sitting in the front row.

And many distracted viewers immediately began wondering, what ....

... in the world was Obama eating or chewing during the memorial service for more than 113 dead?

What do you think?

An outraged Thomas Lifson here speculates that the president might have been chewing Nicorette gum to combat his ongoing struggle with cigarette smoking. Chewing is arguably better than lighting up during the service. And gum-chewing during public meetings fits with this president’s more casual attitudes about some things, such as the tradition of wearing a tie and coat in the Oval Office.

Lifson also points out that this is not the first time Obama has been spotted chewing something during public meetings.

-- Andrew Malcolm

Chew on this: Don’t forget to follow The Ticket via Twitter alerts of each new Ticket item. Or click this: @latimestot. Our Facebook Like page is over here. We’re also available on Kindle. Use the ReTweet buttons above to share any item with family and friends.