The dogs of politics

I suppose all modern presidents have had a First Dog.

I’m a bit cynical about all of this. I side with Dick Chaney regarding the use of animals as political props. Remember all the hoopla each Thanksgiving when the president spares a turkey?

Last year Bush decided he needed to pardon not one, but TWO turkeys. And Cheney suggested they be named Lunch and Dinner.

But some have used the old canine as a political tool even before they made it to the White House.

Of note is Checkers, the family pet of Senator Dick Nixon. After sharing the details of his meager family budget in the face of graft charges (entire speech here)
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/richardnixoncheckers.html Nixon goes on to explain that his dog Checkers was a gift from a man in Texas and he wasn’t about to give it back. Then there is Buddy, the Bill Clinton dog. Bill spent so much time in the dog house that he surely bonded with his dog.
And in my research about Barney, the Bush dog, I was amazed to discover the amount of time, attention and tax revenue expended on the White House dog. There is a photo album of DAILY pictures of the dog taken for a couple of years. That has been replaced with Barney-cam. Can you imagine a White House photographer assigned to capture and publish a daily photo of Barney?
I don’t deny a man the right to own a dog, but do I have to pay for a photographer to take daily pictures of him? Seems a bit much to me.

Speaking of excessive, there is a photo going around as part of a book promotion. It shows Obama holding a white dog with the Lincoln Memorial as a backdrop!
Did I mention that it is a three-legged dog?

Obama needs to join the Catholic Church. At least that way he’d have a shot at sainthood. He’s well on his way.


But Obama has some stiff competition. Boy, dog, altar, the Blessed Virgin. It doesn't get any better than that.