Obama did coke, other drugs, and drank as a youth.

The media's reaction? Yawn. My reaction - likewise. A guy did coke in high school and that precludes him from being president? Or hurts his chances?

Should it? Our culture's shifted a lot in the last 15 or so years. I remember when Brenda on 90210 said "bitch" on TV. I forget if she said it first, or if it was Roseanne on her sitcom. But it was news at the time.

Since then our culture's become quite desensitized to accepting minor swear words in pop culture use. Good or bad, I'm not judging. I'm a realist, and know swearing takes place in the boardroom, in meetings, on the streets, and in the church parking lot as people fight to get out of Sunday church sessions.

This is reality; this is our culture. So what does that mean for a PR pro charged with helping monitor a firm's good name? Do we continue to pretend corporations never swear?

Well, they shouldn't, not as a collective corporate voice. But their employees do swear, and are fallible. Most of us fall pretty short from Grace.

I maintain we should push for honest conversation, with our customers and consumers. But I still have a special spot for standards in my heart. As one of my company owners put it, "This is partly my company and I will protect its good name."

The Simpsons can put out swear words, and swim in pop culture language. Bitch, fart, ass, and much worse are said all day long, and become glaringly apparent during "family" TV time - the 8 pm sitcom hour.

So Obama did drugs. I say no big deal, as long as he's not doing them now, and hasn't done them for a long time. But as for my clients, I echo what my friend and firm COO taught me - low-brow Anything has no place in quality communications. My firm doesn't stand for that; anyone can be an idiot and cuss. Smart conversations - yes, even real conversations - can take place in the absence of words better offered at a bar or bowling alley than in corporate communications.

I do think it interesting Obama is immune to doing drugs when our current president was slammed for doing so. Cultural change, media bias, shifting times - I don't care. I do swear at times, but realize it's not the best way for me to communicate, and I certainly don't advocate it for my clients or anyone wishing to carry forth a serious message.

I'll probably continue to swear when I stub my toe or learn my neighbor has positioned his ditch to run off onto our property. But there's a place and time for swearing, and corporate communications should never be one of them.