I guess you had to expect that with our extended election season finally over, a media looking for stories would jump on Obama’s promise in his acceptance speech to get his daughters a puppy. But I for one will feel sorry for the new presidential pet. Why?
For an answer, I present this photo of Socks, President Clinton’s pet cat, being hounded (pun intended) by the media back in 1992:
© Mike Nelson/AFP/Getty Images
The hysteria has already started. If you don’t believe me, take a look at the new website obamafamilydog.com. But the fascination with presidential pets has been around for a long time. President Bush’s Scottish terrier Barney has his own government funded website. Believe it or not, there is a Presidential Pets Museum, whose founder counsels that picking a presidential pet “is a very, very, very important decision.” Some historical pet tidbits — John Quincy Adams had a pet alligator, William Henry Harrison had a pet billy goat, and JFK had Macaroni the Pony.
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Even worse, a website devoted to voting on it: http://www.nameobamaspuppy.com.