Barack, Rod, God and other year-end odds and ends

If you are among the millions of Americans who will try to stop smoking when the ball drops on New Year's Eve, you may not want to use Barack Obama as a role model.

In referring to the personal habits and health of Mr. Obama during the early part of the presidential campaign, it was reported as fact that he had stopped smoking.

Nobody on his campaign wanted to deal with the baggage of a tobacco-addicted candidate and questions about willpower, personal strength, etc.

Then, months after Obama's primary rampage began, it was reported as fact that he had never really stopped smoking but that he should be pardoned due to the pressures of campaigning.

Now, news reports state matter-of-factly that Mr. Obama just "sneaks a few puffs" every now and then.

The Barack Obama smoking profile is parallel to the approach that Mr. Obama and his staff have used concerning whether there were any contacts with Gov. Rod Blagojevich concerning the vacant senate seat: First you deny it. Then you backpedal a little bit. Then after the frenzy simmers down, you admit a softer gentler version of the facts.

For all of you smokers just three days away from quitting cold turkey, such an approach is ill-advised.

Nobody will believe that you are just sneaking a few puffs every now and then.

JFK revisited

When Mr. Obama is inaugurated in a few weeks, you will no doubt see and hear the swearing-in speech of John F. Kennedy replayed again and again. After all, JFK was Obama's predecessor in Camelot.

The "ask not what your country can do for you" line from that speech is the most famous Kennedy line in history.

I always considered a Teddy Kennedy quote to be the second most famous. He delivered it in the eulogy for his murdered brother, Bobby.

"Some men see things as they are and ask why. Others dream things that never were and ask why not," Mr. Kennedy said.

I always figured he conceived that line.

Not so. It was George Bernard Shaw.

Clichés, Inc.

Out with the old year, hopefully, will be some phrases that really started to grind on me in '08.

"You betcha" is one of them, spoken by Sarah Palin and run into the ground on Saturday Night Live.

"At the end of the day" is another. It is a meaningless time frame that became popular with appliance salesman, usually while trying to sell you an extended warranty or service contract.

As in: "At the end of the day, you will be a much happier person when you buy this."

"Oh my God." It seems everybody says it. Depending on the situation, the phrase is uttered in varying speeds and with a different word stressed. It is either "OH my God." Or "oh my GOD." Or the reliable "OH-MY-GOD!"

I am certain the increase in use of "Oh my God" is a direct result of the "OMG" shorthand used in text messaging.

And then there are two overused phrases from news anchors, most on cable. The first is the unprofessional and overly folksy "Hey there!" when introducing a correspondent. The reporter says "Hey there" to the anchor and continues on chronicling the mayhem du jour.

The second-most hackneyed TV news phrase of the last year occurred ad nausea most every time an anchor introduced a live news conference. They would invariably say "let's listen in" as the person started to talk, as if just "let's listen" might not be clear enough.

Nobody important must be driving here

The worst stretch of interstate highway in Illinois has to be I-80 on the far west end. Coming eastbound from Iowa, for 5 miles, the pavement is so pitted and cratered that feels like you are driving on the moon.

The only solace is that Rod Blagojevich's name is still plastered on the signage.

The best stretch of interstate highway in Illinois is between suburban Chicago and Springfield. Who would have guessed?

Go (away), Irish

Why does Illinois have Notre Dame specialty license plates? ND is in Indiana. Don't we have enough worthy universities in our own state to plaster on plates?

We don't have a prayer

Finally, as Mayor Daley will jack up Chicago's street parking rates in 2009, it is fitting to end this year with a story I read in Esquire.

A man is driving down the street in a sweat because he has an important meeting and can't find a parking spot. He looks toward heaven and says, "Lord, take pity on me. If you find me a place to park, I promise to go to church every Sunday for the rest of my life and to stop drinking."

Miraculously, a parking spot appears and the man pulls in.

Looking skyward he once again speaks to God.

"Never mind," the man says, "I found one."

• Chuck Goudie, whose column appears each Monday, is the chief investigative reporter at ABC 7 News in Chicago. The views in this column are his own and not those of WLS-TV. He can be reached by email at chuckgoudie@gmail.com