I always hope I’m exaggerating, at least a little, when I say I’m a cynic. And inside, I’m always ashamed of myself for being so suspicious of people’s motives.
That said, I’m rather peeved about the new White House puppy, a Portuguese Water Dog named Bo. Not that the dog isn’t cute. And if the Obama girls are happy with him, why should I care?
Well, Pres. Obama made a big show of saying they were going to adopt a dog from an animal rescue organization. Give a home to a homeless dog, give his daughters the dog he’d promised them, etc. And it played well during the campaign, didn’t it?
There was great excitement here in Colorado, where rescue groups had at least two hypoallergenic labradoodles available for adoption.
Fast forward a few months. The Obamas are in the White House, spring is in the air, and it’s time for The Dog.
The Dog turns out to be a portie, the same breed loved, owned, and promoted by Sen. Ted Kennedy, perhaps the most influential Democrat in Washington after Obama himself. From the same place Kennedy got his dogs. Already fully trained. A gift, in fact, from Sen. Kennedy.
Ah, those campaign promises. Easy come, easy go. Dust in the wind. Adopt a homeless shelter dog? Everydog. It was a nice everyman touch, the politically advantageous thing to advocate. It was even fun for a second to imagine some unprincipled pup pooping in the Oval Office and teething on 18th Century Victorian chair legs.
But it was not to be. A purebred dog, a gift from the Kennedys, a proper dog, already properly trained for its very proper future in the White House. And I suspect there’s a designated team of White House dog wranglers to handle everything between playtime and photo ops. The Obama girls have the dog they were promised, and all’s well.
Still, does anyone ever say “no” to Ted Kennedy? Ever?
(And no, the fact that I’m still jumping through hoops trying to find and adopt a rescue dog has absolutely no bearing on this.)