He's Not Even an American Water Dog!

Rachel's Topic: Presidential Pets

I don't know much about the first pets. This may be a better topic for Sarah Vowell. Didn't one of the presidents have a crocodile? And I seem to recall a photo of the Kennedy children with a pony. How very Camelot. There have been a lot of dogs over the years.

Which brings us to our current first dog. Who knew Bo (or Bo 'Bama, as I call him) would cause such a ruckus? I guess everything the current president does is cause for at least comment, if not an all out firestorm of vitriol, so why should their choice of animal companion be any different? I can understand the desire by some that they should choose a shelter dog. That would be a nice example and, really, it's a good thing to do even if you're not the first family. But considering the allergy limitations, a purebred, non-allergenic dog was really the only option. (And they made a shelter donation instead so let it go.) Plus it was a gift from Ted Kennedy. Awww. The kids seem happy. Mom and Dad seem happy. Bo seems happy. That should be all that matters. And the fact that Bo sports an I heart Obama leash is completely charming.

I'm an Obama fan. It's not a secret. But I would feel bad for anyone in his position. The man has one of the most difficult jobs in the world which is made even more difficult when the populace nit-picks and psychoanalyzes every little move he makes. Do we really need to discuss his mom jeans or beer selections? I don't remember hearing about this kind of minutiae during Bush's two terms. Or perhaps I blocked it out.

Every time an election rolls around we get the same media circus of judgement. The candidate ordered chicken sandwich? But this is cattle country! Remember when Obama made some comment about the price of arugula in Iowa? Oh, the horror! To the punditry that was an indictment of Obama's elitism. Arugula! What a snob! Turns out, there were farmers right there in that county, arugula farmers, who cared very much about the price their crop was getting. Let's face it, the scrutiny presidential candidates have come under in the last few decades has gotten out of control. Who cares if a candidate knows what a gallon of milk costs? I don't know what a gallon of milk costs! And I don't care where, or even if, they go to church. I care about their views and their ideas. And I really don't care about their personal relationships. Unless they are engaging in affairs that are illegal or hypocritical, that it. There are many rumors about the various affairs JFK engaged in while in office, but no one talked about it at the time. You know why? It was none of our damn business! He showed up and he did his job. That's good enough for me. Fast forward a few decades and suddenly Clinton is being impeached for a blow job. (Sure, they cited a variety of improprieties, but we all know that's what it was really about.) Honestly, you'd have to be a little nuts to want that job. So, if a little love from man's best friend makes it all a little more bearable, I say go ahead.

See how I brought it back to the original topic? So clever.