Update on Last Butt Award for President Obama

March 1, 2009 - PRLog -- President-Elect and First Family to receive First Annual Award for his efforts to stop smoking. This prestigious award, created by famous French artist/painter, Philippe Valy, will be bestowed upon President Elect Barack Obama at a date to be announced.

It will be the First Annual Last Butt Awards to be given to selected public officials and celebrities to reward them for making giant efforts to stop smoking as they grapple with the challenges of their office or industry.

The Poet-in-Residence of the Last Butt Society, Emgee, has written a poem depicting the then Senator Obama’s struggles with smoking during the campaign and what could be his sentiments upon receiving the Award. Since the offer in December and the publication of the poem “Ode to the Wagon”, the poet in residence has updated the poem here.

'Ode to the Wagon, 2008"

'The campaign trail was quite a ride
Tried to stay on the wagon till the other side
But with bumps and thumps and hills and vales
The wagon derailed, I went off the trail
Got up, got on, a long way away
November 4, will it ever get here
Back on, fell off, back on again
The ride was long, had to take a train
Ditched the wagon, hitched a ride
No more falling off till the other side
And now, no matter what the rut
I am the proud holder of
MY LAST BUTT'
16 December 2008

Emgee Poetry, 2008
http://muriellascorner.com

Since it is not quite clear whether the President has stopped smoking, here is an addendum to the "Ode to the Wagon"

Ode to the Wagon, 2009

My first thirty days
Were quite a ride
The wagon is leaning
On the other side
Stimulus bumps, budget hills,
Confronted with issues
Due to IRS thrills,
But, still resolute to date,
Love the wagon, hate
The ride, am staying
on till the other side
Cause , no matter what the rut
I will be the proud holder of
My Last Butt

Updated 1 March 2009

Emgee Poetry, 2009
http://muriellascorner.com

Dbtechno.com said  on 20 February 2009 that it is a pretty well-known fact at this point that President Barack Obama smokes.  This has sparked a great deal of controversy, asking the question, should United States citizens demand that their president quit?

It has been well documented that smoking is bad for your health.  Not only for the smoker, but also for others as second-hand and third-hand smoke are also very harmless.According to the American Lung Association, tobacco related illnesses lead to the deaths of nearly 400,000 people each and every year.

President Barack Obama has stated in the past that he is doing his best to quit the habit as this would set a fantastic example for people all across America. Whether or not the American people should demand that he quit though is a different story.

On Feb 3, 2009, Agence France Press reported that  President Barack Obama is having at least some success in his plan to quit smoking in office.Obama told CNN's Anderson Cooper he hasn't had a cigarette on the White House grounds. But he acknowledged that quitting has been difficult.Cooper did not ask if Obama had smoked outside of the White House grounds since he was sworn in on Jan. 20.

MY LAST BUTT... is an International Association founded in 2008. Its purpose is to provide support to smokers wanting to quit smoking, to raise awareness of the detrimental effects of the cigarette by the means of any artistic event such as concerts, plays, street shows, sculptures, paintings or any other activity. It will organize preventive operations with miscellaneous establishments to increase awareness among young people of the influence of cigarette on our lifestyle and health. Most importantly, the Association recognizes the efforts smokers place on quitting and is committed to support them throughout the process, without having to stigmatize, tax or stress the smokers. Many have joined the movement (http://www.myspace.com/mylastbutt). There are Associations in the U.S. and in Europe, China and North Africa.

The Board of Directors of the Last Butt Society is committed to providing a new approach to those smokers grappling with giving up smoking, as well as those who stop and start, like President-Elect Obama who admits to falling off the wagon a couple of times. As he said to Tom Brokaw during his interview on Meet the Press on Sunday 7 December 2008, "I have done a terrible job so far, however, I can assure you that there will be no smoking in the White House."

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