I have four dogs, and I suspect one of them is a Democrat. Two Anatolian Shepherds guard the livestock – the law and order contingent – and a Rat Terrier, if he learns not to be so reckless around cars, will grow up to control vermin and warn of snakes in the grass.
The Border Collie is much smarter than the other dogs, but useless. Her instincts tell her to herd, but she doesn’t know how. She feels compelled to make an impact on the ranching operations even though she hasn’t the faintest idea what she’s doing. Her actions are well intentioned, but generally counter-productive.
Full disclosure: the dog pictured is not my dog. My dogs value their privacy, except for the Border Collie whose modelling rates are too high. But this is a dog that would look good on my front porch. It has the right combination of determination and bewilderment.
Which left me wondering . . . where is Obama’s dog? Politicians are supposed to have attractive wives and well-scrubbed kids, which Obama surely has, but a dog is obligatory. No president since Woodrow Wilson has been dogless.
Past presidents had pets that frequently seem fitting in a curious way: Howard Taft had a cow; Millard Fillmore and Franklin Pierce had no pets; and Andrew Johnson had mice!
McCain has dogs, but poor Obama has none. He promised his kids they could have a dog after the election. But Obama’s current lack of a dog could be used by McCain as further evidence of being unprepared. A dog in the future? More campaign promises.
As David Brooks said in today’s editorial, “Barack Obama loves the future because that’s where all his accomplishments are.”
Obama would do well to get a dog now since he’s trailing in the polls among pet owners.
Update: “According to the Huffington Post, ‘the American Kennel Club® (AKC) announced today that the public has elected a Poodle as their breed of choice for the Obama family.’” As I said, fitting in a curious way.
Photo by monkeyc.net Creative Commons
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