If you want to help Malia, Barack Obama: stop blaming global warming, and quit smoking.

It’s like a metaphor for this administration: President Barack Obama is blaming a problem on outside forces, when in reality it’s probably due to his own bad choices. In this particular case, the problem is his kid’s asthma, the outside force is global warming, and his own bad choice is not quitting smoking. USA Today, of all places, unpacks this for us:

Whether there is a link between asthma and global warming, Malia herself hasn’t really experienced much. The high school junior was born in 1998, when temperatures spiked. By some measurements, the world hasn’t warmed significantly since then.

Which brings us back to her father and his Marlboros. The president, who quit smoking years ago, has long kept his tobacco use out of doors. That’s a common-sense tactic for folks who have trouble quitting. But sometimes, science can show that common sense has less sense than you think.

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