In his press conference today, Obama was asked what kind of puppy he's going to get for his girls. Coincidentally, a day or two ago I got an invitation to an open group on Facebook dedicated to persuading the Obamas to adopt a shelter puppy.
Straight-faced, Obama said this was a serious issue, and there were two considerations: one, his daughter Malia is allergic, so they have to look into one of the hypoallergenic breeds. That said, their preference would be -- to adopt a shelter puppy! -- but, he said, "a lot of shelter dogs are mutts, like me."
You're likeable enough, Barack!
UPDATE: My reaction to Obama's Nancy Reagan crack is dulled by political exhaustion. I observe that if you're predisposed to hate somebody, you will jump on their smallest gaffe, goof or slip as proof that your aversion is justified and evidence of a deeply flawed character. If you're predisposed to love somebody, you will gloss over potentially disturbing or revealing little signs because they don't fit the picture you've set your heart on.
The insensitivity of what Obama said reminds me of the way he tossed a rose on September 11. Both show the unawareness of a relatively young person who was neither drilled in this kind of respect (by father, mother, teachers) nor awakened to it by personal suffering. The former would create an external observance, which is better than nothing but fairly empty; the latter would spring from understanding, like McCain's different demeanor.
As for the external observance (and this includes wearing a flag pin), most young Americans of Obama's vintage, especially those with liberal parents, were not drilled in these rituals. They were considered formalistic and inauthentic around the time Obama was growing up.
Making a joke about Nancy Reagan reveals not only a lack of sensitivity to her bereavement and frailty, but also the world Obama comes from, the world where Reagan was a figure of fun and loathing. (Been there.) Barack still has some of the fingerprints of that world on him. I do not believe that means he still belongs to it lock, stock, and barrel. He's a work in progress. It's just sort of "default mode" in moments of fatigue and inattention. He reportedly apologized for it, as he admitted that "above my pay grade" was too glib and smart-alecky. The question is whether these little lessons will sink in and add up to something more than a better political censor.
I am sure that Nancy Reagan graciously forgave him.
It would be great if they got a shelter puppy!
Posted by: RW Rogers | November 07, 2008 at 06:54 PM
I was hoping he would do that. Really nice. Good start Obama. Now I just hope he really did quit smoking. A president can't just go outside anytime he wants to have a cigarette.
Posted by: realpc | November 07, 2008 at 08:38 PM
There is a terrific outfit here in Cincinnati called SHELTERED PAWS DOG RESCUE where dogs are selected from shelters and placed in foster homes where they are then observed and evaluated so they can be matched up with the requirements of potential adoptive homes. It's an all-volunteer organization, really wonderful people. I have a three year-old black mutt named Holly snoring on my couch as I type. She's a sweetheart.
Posted by: Meade | November 07, 2008 at 08:54 PM
The Golden Poodle is a mutt, too- by my way of thinking, anyway. Although, they do go for over 1,000$, don't they?
Anyway- they could call the pup: Snickerdoodle the Golden Poodle. Or, something.
Holy cow- where did i get the idea of a Golden Poodle? I've re-read the post twice and i can't see reference to it. Would they call it a Gol'oodle?
Time for bed, apparently.
Posted by: karen | November 07, 2008 at 09:16 PM
There are plenty of purebred dogs that need rescue also. We've got a purebred Great Pyrenees that didn't inherit all the right traits to be "desirable" but he did inherit the great personality of the breed.
We've also got a mutt we got as a puppy from the shelter. We adopted him and his sister - the female died a week later from parvo. We had no idea what kind of personality this dog would have, and he is not a dog that would be good around children.
I'd hate to see the Obama's get a certain dog just because it's "PC" in some way. This dog is for the girls and I think they should get to pick with only the advice of a dog-trainer.
Malia did her research and decided she wants a goldendoodle and that is exactly what she should get. To heck with everyone else's agenda.
I do not want to see publicity interfere with these girls' lives the way it did with Amy Carter and Chelsea Clinton.
Posted by: Donna B. | November 07, 2008 at 09:20 PM
.........mutts do make the best dogs!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Rick Robotham | November 07, 2008 at 09:36 PM
"I do not want to see publicity interfere with these girls' lives the way it did with Amy Carter and Chelsea Clinton."
I sympathize, Donna. Unfortunately, it's a little late for that. The girls' parents decided that their father's career should come before them having normal healthy childhoods. Palins made a similar decision for their family. I think it's wrong and a shame which evidently puts me in the minority as I am told by many that my opinion reflects an anti-modern attitude. Of course some tell me that not aborting an inconvenient pregnancy is anti-modern too. So be it.
Posted by: Meade | November 07, 2008 at 09:41 PM
Excellent update, amba. I thought of the rose tossing too but couldn't get into words what you covered so fluently. Strange as this may sound, Obama would do well to hire George W Bush to coach him in demeanor and protocol. He could do much worse - he could turn to Biden.
"The Office of the President-elect" Jeeze, who's idea was that? Talk about all hat and no cattle.
Posted by: Meade | November 07, 2008 at 11:42 PM
Meade, that's true then not only of the Obamas and Palins, but also of the Clintons and Carters.
I do not think being a parent should disqualify someone from running for president. What I do think is that the president's (or president-elect's) children should be off-limits for political pandering.
RE: Amba's update on the general lack of sensitivity and homage to protocol -- I think Obama is too much of a self-manufactured man rather than a self-made man.
The difference is between using a mold and making a mold.
Posted by: Donna B. | November 08, 2008 at 02:57 AM
Well it just isn't cool anymore to believe in seances or astrology, now that we're all so liberal and enlightened.
I am still reading Obama's book and it's just overwhelming how much I agree with almost everything he says. It's all the kind of things I have been thinking and saying for years, and most of us here have been thinking and saying. Like how you have to balance conflicting values, etc. I keep wishing I could copy and paste passages from the book.
I highly recommend that everyone here read The Audacity of Hope. However, I have not finished it yet so I can't promise the whole book is wonderful. The part I read so far sure is, except on religion -- he does not seem to care about that subject much at all. Too progressive and enlightened.
But he is on our wavelength Amba, that's for sure. We can't expect him to always say the right thing in public, and that is too bad he insulted Nancy Reagan after all the tragedy she went through so bravely.
And it's also too bad he doesn't get the mystical side of life at all. But he is so sharp on anything related to history and political philosophy, and human nature. I get the impression he has done a whole lot of reading and thinking, although I can't imagine where he got the time.
Posted by: realpc | November 08, 2008 at 07:23 AM
He made a joke about Nancy Reagan? That BASTARD!
Now, at last the scales fall from my eyes. Now at last I can see the hideous truth. Barack Obama is an unfeeling dog, a guttersnipe, a foul ravening beast. He may be the Antichrist himself!
A man who would make a joke about Nancy Reagan's fondness for the supernatural is a man who will collectivize agriculture, nationalize industry, dispossess the kulaks and make a secret deal with Hitler himself! Look out, Poland!
Posted by: Michael Reynolds | November 08, 2008 at 07:34 AM
Unbelievable story about the heroism of a local animal shelter in the Chicago Trib this morning. I suck at links, so I'll summarize the story, and Amba, if you want to paste in the link, fine.
Au guy in the exurbs was walking his dog -- with which he'd camped in every one of the lower 48 -- in a field behind his house. The dog ran ahead, as it was wont to do, and the owner watched in horror as it ran toward nearby train tracks on which a freight train was approaching.
The guy screamed for the dog to stop, but the dog couldn't hear him and got hit. The dog's body was on the other side of the tracks and the train took almost a half hour to pass. By the time it was gone, and the owner could cross the tracks, all that was left of the dog, apparently, was a severed paw. He couldn't find the rest.
He went home to grieve, but it turned out the dog was still alive, bleeding terribly. It dragged itself to a nearby office park, where it was found by someone who called a local shelter. Shelter volunteers raced over, got the dog and rushed her into surgery.
She's minus her right hind leg, has some cuts and scrapes, but otherwise fine, and she was reunited with her owner this morning. Her tail thumped madly when she saw him.
Morals of the story: a) keep your dog on a leash near train tracks; and b) shelters rock.
Posted by: david | November 08, 2008 at 08:31 AM
"He made a joke about Nancy Reagan? That BASTARD!"
But then he made a self-serving perfunctory so-called apology to her.
So it's okay, Michael - you can continue with your worship service.
Posted by: Meade | November 08, 2008 at 08:57 AM
Meade:
Toddle off and fin me a single word I've ever written that looks remotely like worship.
You want to take me on, take me on. If you want to argue with the fantasy Obama supporter who lives in your head, that's another matter entirely.
You'd think after getting hammered into the dust, in large part because they completely misunderstood both Obama and his supporters, Republicans might see about freshening up their act. But nope. Apparently not. Keep doing the things you did to lose Indiana, North Carolina and Virginia.
Posted by: Michael Reynolds | November 08, 2008 at 09:11 AM
Amazing story and nice summary, David. Brings home the reality of just how responsible we are for the welfare of our domesticated animals. I have found, in general, farm people understand this far better than their city cousins.
Posted by: Meade | November 08, 2008 at 09:16 AM
I have always been a Christian, so I don't have the 'conversion' story of many evangelicals. I do, however, have an analogous story of when I went from a non-patriot to a patriot. It felt to me like what a religious conversion must've felt like. I walked away from that certain moment knowing 'I am a patriot,' which I hadn't known before.
I can relate to Obama's lack of sureness when it comes to showing how and how much he loves this country. Prior to my 'patriotic conversion,' I would have done things very similarly. No longer.
Posted by: Ruth Anne | November 08, 2008 at 09:46 AM
Michael:
Why would I want to, as you say, take you on?
You don't fight fair, you lob your little smear bombs at other commenters from the comfortable safety of your expat highlands, and then you get all prickly whenever someone here tosses back to you one that failed to explode.
It's a pity to watch you waste your gifted sense of humor, intelligence, and superior writing skills in the pursuit of alienating people who would enjoy your contributions if only they were a bit less... joyless. (There's a little hint for making your talk radio show as popular as Rush Limbaugh's: add a bit of self-deprecating humor blended with optimism and a dash of joy. Otherwise, I'd keep my seven-figure day job if I were you.)
But it doesn't cause me to want to take you on, which would probably require an entire army of Callimachuses. And since we only have one, you've clearly got us outgunned. Congratulations.
Posted by: Meade | November 08, 2008 at 09:51 AM
I'm puzzled about why you continually use the smallest bits of information to psychoanalyze Obama and create these fantasy scenarios of how his life must have progressed. Can we not just say that he tried to make a joke that was in poor taste, and leave it at that? Is your response to something so simple really going to be a "that boy wasn't raised right" lecture?
I mean, you blamed it on his "liberal parents" and his generation, and then contrasted it with McCain's demeanor. Seriously, John McCain? The John McCain who joked that Chelsea Clinton (a young girl at the time) was so ugly because Janet Reno was her father?
And I'm not trying to turn this into a hit on McCain. Like Obama, he made a joke in poor taste that he probably later regretted. I could take that isolated incident and use it to paint a picture of a codgery old man who doesn't have the self-discipline to control his own vulgarity, but that would be dishonest and irrelevant. Yet every time you put Obama on the couch it seems to reveal more about your predispositions than his.
Posted by: Elyas | November 08, 2008 at 09:54 AM
Ruth Anne, I'm sincerely interested in how you define a "patriot" and a "non-patriot." In reading your interpretation of Obama's actions as an indication that he may not be a patriot, as you are now, I'm guessing that there are a whole bunch of people, myself included, who you would not call "patriots." Your own personal definition shouldn't matter to me but it does raise my hackles in terms of the condescension involved in deciding who are the "real" and "good" and "patriotic" Americans. We've heard a lot of that lately. Or maybe I'm getting it wrong. What ARE you saying about Obama in terms of his patriotism?
Posted by: Danny | November 08, 2008 at 10:58 AM
If you want to argue with the fantasy Obama supporter who lives in your head, that's another matter entirely.
Michael, you've given us all advanced lessons in how to ignore what's in front of you and fight with fantasy figures. We are your acolytes!
Posted by: amba | November 08, 2008 at 11:00 AM
Sure, ELyas, I've said I identify with him. Big deal. This is a blog, you know?
Posted by: amba | November 08, 2008 at 11:03 AM
David: awesome story. I'll look for the link when I get back from J's gym.
Posted by: amba | November 08, 2008 at 11:06 AM
Annie: LOL! & LOL! & Enjoy the gym.
Posted by: RW Rogers | November 08, 2008 at 11:49 AM
I still don't get it that this was funny. I know it was supposed to be. It wasn't. I didn't get incensed either, but I thought, o my, don't you know that others will see that as a jab or disrespectful?
I was in mourning with many others when Reagan died. I honor the way his wife took care of him, and hope I would do the same with the same commitment if my partner were ill. I disagree with Reagan on certain policies in retrospect--I was a child when he was president, but who cannot honor him for his tough stance with the USSR? After all, my partner is German and knows the experience of visiting his family in former East Germany, and let me tell you, things weren't good.
So I found the remark off and tactless. You're right, many of us haven't been raised with manners, but as I remind the students I'm responsible for, manners smooth disagreement, allow for the possibility of civil discourse, and work to treat all with respect.
Posted by: Christopher | November 08, 2008 at 11:57 AM
Did Obama just call Halle Barry a mutt?
Posted by: Christy | November 08, 2008 at 12:57 PM
Meade:
Now that actually was a very good comeback.
Annie:
Sorry, but you are so far off-base on Obama and this election generally that you only see the mote and not the beam. (Not to go all New Testament on you.)
Posted by: Michael Reynolds | November 08, 2008 at 02:03 PM
Michael: anyone who didn't vote for Obama, for whatever reason, would be way off base to you. Even though you started out as a Clinton supporter, and in that role had plenty of choice things to say about Obama that it would be fun to quote back to you now, the way they quoted Clinton's and Biden's primary gibes in McCain ads.
Posted by: amba | November 08, 2008 at 02:41 PM
Amba:
That wouldn't bother me in the least. I'm not in the cult. And unless you believe that 53% of American voters are cultists perhaps it's time to reconsider that off-base and out-of-date caricature?
Obama won among men and women, whites, blacks and Latinos, rich and poor. He won Catholics and Jews. That's either a hell of a big cult, or you're not seeing things very clearly.
Posted by: Michael Reynolds | November 08, 2008 at 04:08 PM
Um, where's the word or concept "cult" in the comment you're responding to? Case in point. Blazing away at something that isn't there.
I hope Obama's a great or even a good president. He sure took on one of the toughest of times. It seems to me the Republicans should be happy, because they won't have to take the rap for whatever shit goes down.
I don't promise not to criticize him, and I wouldn't have made that promise if I had voted for him, which I came close enough to doing. He needs to be given a chance -- not just for five minutes -- and he also needs us to hold his feet to the fire. That's not carping. He's holding our baby.
Posted by: amba | November 08, 2008 at 04:21 PM
As for his Nancy Reagan crack, it's pretty trivial. But it was politically stupid -- bound to be jumped all over -- and like his "bitter, clinging" comment, it shows where he comes from: a world where no one is offended if you joke about Nancy Reagan (or Sarah Palin). He's gradually shedding his own kind of provincialism, but some of it still clings. If he's serious about being everyone's president, he has to realize he's not in Kansas any more -- er, I mean, he is in Kansas now as well as in Hyde Park.
Posted by: amba | November 08, 2008 at 04:25 PM
Here's a suggestion: why doesn't everyone, on all sides, just shut up for a while and see how things develop? We all suffer from logorrhea (probably misspelled). I am sick of hearing about Palin, Obama, mutts, McCain, Limbaugh, Maddow, etc., etc. etc. Enough already. I will be the first to follow my own advice. See ya later.
Posted by: Ally | November 08, 2008 at 04:43 PM
Yeah, at this point it does feel like we're all just running on momentum and have overshot the mark.
Posted by: amba | November 08, 2008 at 04:51 PM
Do go to the trackback though and read Jon Swift. Around the time he gets to mock high dudgeon about shelter dogs preferring to be called "Differently Bred," you'll spit out your milk.
Posted by: amba | November 08, 2008 at 04:53 PM
Danny:
I meant 'patriot' in the simplest of terms: one who loves his country. And I did say 'how and how much he loves his country' which presumes that Obama does love it. But the personal conversion I experienced was a moment after I was in the Army when I knew with complete certainty that I would be willing to die for my country.
I guess it's the difference between being a newlywed versus being the spouse who lays down her life for her husband. It's hard to describe, as all those deeply personal and emotional moments might be, and I didn't want to set off your umbrage meter or anything. I just was saying that there's patriot and there's patriot. It's a matter of intensity and it's freeing all at the same time.
I hope that helps.
Posted by: Ruth Anne | November 08, 2008 at 05:22 PM
Danny:
Here's a better illustration. The barnyard animals were talking together about how to appreciate Farmer Brown for all he had done. The chicken squawks, 'I know! Let's give him a fabulous bacon and egg breakfast!'
The pig replied, 'that's fine for you. It requires a contribution, but for me it requires a total commitment.'
Posted by: Ruth Anne | November 08, 2008 at 05:33 PM
I'm surprised Jon Swift didn't highlight more dramatically the horrendous Rose Gaffe you so eloquently linked to. This alone should be enough for all right-thinking men to admit they're sick and tired of being told they're sick and tired of being told they're sick and tired.
Keep the laughs coming!
Posted by: melior | November 08, 2008 at 05:56 PM
" If he's serious about being everyone's president, he has to realize he's not in Kansas any more -- er, I mean, he is in Kansas now as well as in Hyde Park."
Yes he was brought up as an ultra-liberal, as I was. Except his family wasn't insane like mine. Liberalism, or progressivism, or whatever it's called at this minute, was natural and automatic to me. I could not understand why everything wasn't just shared, instead of having to be earned, or why anyone ever wanted to fight wars, or why anyone could ever be discriminated against.
My automatic liberalism was eroded away by every book or conversation that made me wonder and doubt. I still have that automatic feeling of "ahh" associated with Democrat and "ugh" associated with Republican, but at least now I know it's crazy or stupid to think automatically with no logic whatsoever. That's how my mother has always decided who to vote for or against -- ahh or ugh.
And I didn't mean to say my mother is stupid. One of the smartest guys around today, Paul Krugman, processes political questions exactly the same way: white hats for Democrats, black hats for Republicans, no thinking required. George Lakoff, the Democrats' linguistics advisor, is the same: warm and furry and nurturing for Democrats, fearful, cringing, greedy and authoritarian for Republicans.
So anyway, Barak probably probably has been programmed with some automatic thinking. But his conscious thinking is very rational and fair, it seems to me.
Of course, Democrats will say Barak's sophisticated thinking is only normal for a smart progressive. But it isn't! There is nothing sophisticated about the political ideas of Krugman or Lakoff.
Posted by: realpc | November 08, 2008 at 06:02 PM
Ally:
You are absolutely right. So I hereby declare a moratorium on Palin, Obama, McCain and the rest, for the next week at least.
Why? Because I'm big enough to take the first step.
Also because I'm moving back to the States, so I'll probably be too busy. But for the record I'm extending the hand of brotherhood to one and all. And I would like to be credited for that magnanimity.
I'm moving to the O.C. where I will be surrounded by Republicans. Shhh. Don't tell them.
Posted by: michael Reynolds | November 08, 2008 at 06:39 PM
Ruth Anne, what made you decide to join the Army?
I mean that seriously, not like "Gahd! WhatEVER made you decide to do that?"
Posted by: Melinda | November 08, 2008 at 07:09 PM
I still have that automatic feeling of "ahh" associated with Democrat and "ugh" associated with Republican
Me, I've got two different flavors of "ugh"!
Posted by: amba | November 08, 2008 at 08:04 PM
Perfect place for TALK RADIO!!!
Posted by: amba | November 08, 2008 at 08:06 PM
Ally makes sense. I've noticed my voice on here becoming increasingly shrill over the past few months as I've started to get more hits off this blog than a crack addict gets off his pipe. Honestly, I wonder if I'd have more time on my hands if I had an Internet porn addiction rather than how often I read and comment on this site. Not that I plan to stop but maybe I'll pace myself better and try to feel less pressure to "defend" liberals and Democrats.
That said, I'm intrigued by Ruth Anne's comment about her willingness to die for her country. I'd love to hear more about that because I honestly am not sure how I feel about it--i.e., what does such a concept mean to me? Would I be willing to die for my country? When I wrestle with that question, it always comes back to "It depends..." I'm only willing to admit that when I feel safe that no one's going to accuse me of not caring about and appreciating this country (which is not true).
Wait...wasn't this a light little post about Obama's dog? Sorry for my part in hijacking it, Amba!
Posted by: Danny | November 08, 2008 at 08:37 PM
That insensitive bastard. I only hope Nancy had time to steel herself, what with Jupiter bringing bad omens and all. This new president needs to learn something or two about manners.
Posted by: Frank | November 14, 2008 at 07:56 PM