Power Paws

Dear Dog Lady,

Do you think the White House is going to the dog?

Bill, Pleasantville, NY

Yes, Bill and here's why: Dog Lady finds herself ever so fascinated by Barney Bush, the president’s Scottish terrier.

Oh sure, there is the obvious reason: Barney is a very impish looking Scottie, with terrier passions that include soccer balls, horseshoes, and staring out windows. Dog Lady is partial to the tenacious tendencies of terriers.

However, pictures of dogs obsessing over things are a dime a dozen over the Internet. What is most fascinating for Dog Lady about peeking in on Barney is the chance to see a dog ensconced in the sanctum sanctorum of world power -- the White House.

Starting last month, Barney got his own page on the White House Web site. Each day, another photograph of Barney is posted. See for yourself by clicking on this link: http://www.whitehouse.gov/barney/

Look through the photos and you learn as much about the White House as you do about Barney. For example, check out the picture for June 13 and you see Barney entertaining a conga line of presidential advisors, including vice-president Dick Cheney, who wait outside the Oval Office.

Peek at the photo posted on June 11 and you find Barney in the White House elevator where an attendant stands to serve the First Pet. The photo for June 10 shows President Bush snuggling on a settee with the dog he’s called “the son I never had.”

However, if you glimpse at the photo posted on June 3, you see Barney curled up on the same settee with a couple of White House workers who appear quite bored by the canine Bush. Goodness knows how they might resent the omnipotent dog's free range.

Other snaps show Barney sitting up in Bush’s truck down on the ranch in Crawford and gamboling through the grounds in Texas and Washington.

Ever the tactician, Dog Lady wonders why the White House works so hard to maintain this pooch propaganda. What is the political gain? The answer probably lies in the fact that it’s an election year and every weapon of mass distraction helps.

President Bush is obviously smitten by his dog and wants to give Barney the maximum exposure as well as show the White House as a place where Scottie dog Republicans and Blue Dog Democrats are equally welcomed. Also, surveys have shown that dog-owning voters are conscientious about going to the polls. Bush strategist Karl Rove throws out the Barney bone to the canine partisans.

The Barney blitz serves as a Bush image softener, but it may also be a reminder that the White House is going to the dog.

Posted by Dog Lady at June 15, 2004 05:32 PM