Legalizing Pot

Eugene Robinson says we should consider it. Barack Obama, a man of considerably more power, good-naturedly made fun of the idea and those who proposed it today. Obama's reaction is one that the political mainstream --of which he is firmly a part, despite the people crying socialist-- demands of him, but the fact that suggesting the legalization of marijuana provokes laughter says a lot about how far the US has to go in fundamentally altering (read: ending) the war on drugs, and how fundamentally conservative our politicians are, at least on drugs. Why is it only the crackpots and retired pols who consider this a serious topic?