Should Obama walk his own damn dog?
Our answer is a qualified “yes” — but based on far different reasons than those being hammered away on by U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann and other Republicans.
The former presidential candidate from Minnesota said she thinks having a caretaker/dogwalker assigned to Bo is one example of lavish and excessive spending at the White House.
“We are also the ones who are paying for someone to walk the president’s dog — paying for someone to walk the president’s dog,” she said over the weekend (serving as her own echo).
Bachman, who has a beagle named Boomer, made the remarks at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, held just outside Washington .
We, too, think the president should walk his dog — not as a money-saving measure, but because we think those peaceful moments of solace and reflection (assuming Bo is not a tugger) will make him a better president.
Walking the dog not only clears the head, it reminds one of what’s important in life. It’s good for the brain, it keeps the blood circulating, it lets you smell the roses and it calms the soul. I want a president with a calm soul, or at least as calm as the office permits.
While I think Obama and family should walk their own dog at every opportunity, I find nothing wrong with the White House having a full time dog walker on staff — even if, as some not 100 percent confirmed reports suggest, it”s a $100,000- a-year position.
(Also, I offer to fill that position should it ever become vacated — or even on a fill-in basis.)
As reported on the CNN blog, Political Ticker, Bachman, in her speech, blasted what she called “a lifestyle that is one of excess.”
She said she has nothing against the president and his family receiving the best security possible, or having their own plane, but she questioned whether they’ve gone overboard.
“Now we find out that there are five chefs on Air Force One. There are two projectionists who operate the White House movie theater … They regularly sleep at the White House in order to be regularly available in case the first family wants a really, really late show. And I don’t mean to be petty here, but can’t they just push the play button?”
The Obamas, though always very well dressed, don’t strike me as lavish, and I don’t think Bo experiences the same amenities of, say, Queen Elizabeth’s corgis.
Our nation’s First Dog deserves, at least in some ways, royal treatment — even amid all the fiscal cliffs and sequesters that, dramatic as they are, were created by lavishly living (often) politicians out of touch with the real world.
Dogs help keep the word real. I want my president to keep it real. So I want my president to walk the dog whenever possible.
If it comes down to tending to a world crisis and taking Bo outside to pee, by all means, tend to the world crisis, and let the highly paid dogwalker handle the duty, as well as the doody.
(My far bigger questions about all this are whether the Obamas personally scoop Bo’s poop from the White House lawn, and whether Bachmann picks up Boomer’s droppings at her home, valued at $1.27 million, on the 18th hole of the Stoneridge Golf Course.)
Grabbing and bagging a handful of feces is how you keep it really, really real.
But back to our main point. Routine and mundane as the task might seem, there is much to be gained from time spent walking your own dog. (Just ask Leon Panetta.)
In trying times, when the head gets too clogged by all the stress, there is no better way to return it to a state of reason and clarity than the simple pleasure of walking the dog – whether you’re a queen, a president, an assembly line worker, or even unemployed.
(Photos: Bo and the president, official White House photo by Pete Souza; Michele and Marcus Bachmann, with Boomer, AP photo by Craig Lassig)
Posted by jwoestendiek March 18th, 2013 under Muttsblog.
Tags: animals, barack, bo, bo obama, dog, dog walker, dog walking, dogs, first dog, first family, fiscal cliff, lavish, lifestyle, michele bachmann, obama, pets, politics, poop, president, republicans, scoop, sequester, spending, taxes, taxpayers, walking, white house, who walks bo
Comments
Comment from Jason
Time March 18, 2013 at 8:51 am
Having a security detail on the president every ti,e he walks the dog would cost a lot more, I think.
Comment from Tina
Time March 18, 2013 at 12:49 pm
When Bachmann votes to reduce her own pay instead of reducing funding for education and child services… then I might (might) care what she has to say.
As for walking the family dog – I agree with you – it’s a great way to unwind and calm to soul. Which is a good thing. But – if it takes away from, say, national security… it’s good to have a dog-walker available for backup.
As someone who makes much less than the president, I have a dog walker…so, not really a “lavish excess” of an expense. Sometimes it’s a necessity.
I’m more than willing to pay extra to support the president’s dog. I think a dog helps put all life’s problems into perspective.
Comment from Christopher Polanco
Time March 18, 2013 at 1:29 pm
Michele Bachmann is ridiculous. Having a dog walker is not an example of lavish and excessive spending. A dog walker can provide an invaluable service when the owners do not have the time to properly excercise their dog. But of Mr. Obama finds the time to walk Bo then more power to him.
Comment from Rick Scott
Time March 18, 2013 at 3:27 pm
From the looks of him I would guess no one is walking Boomer. Poor guy could use a few laps around the Backmann Estate.
Comment from Boo
Time March 19, 2013 at 8:07 am
Whoever wrote this article must not be very compassionate to animals since they called it a DAMN DOG.Grow up,we all don`t talk that way.
Comment from Wine Dog
Time March 19, 2013 at 8:09 am
I wouldn’t believe a single word Michelle Bachmann uttered. Not only does she not know the difference between carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide but she is part of the problem. Shame on you for buying into her bullcrap.
Comment from jwoestendiek
Time March 19, 2013 at 8:18 am
Wine Dog and Boo, I guess I can’t force you to read the whole damn article, but if you had — rather than commenting based solely on the headline — you’d see no bullcrap had been bought into.
John / ohmidog!
Comment from Patricialynn
Time March 19, 2013 at 8:39 am
Wasn’t Bachmann one of the people who publically “shamed” the president for attending his daughter’s parent-teacher meetings? Strange how attending functions as a parent is a waste of taxpayer time and money, but walking the dog is okay.
Comment from Amelia
Time March 19, 2013 at 11:13 am
I’ve seen congressional dogs on Capitol Hill and they’re walked and tended to by congressional aides, also paid employees. Good enough for Congress but not the President? Why?
Comment from EmilyS
Time March 19, 2013 at 12:43 pm
This is so totally a classic Republican tactic.. focus on something completely unimportant to divert attention from the real damage THEY are doing to our country.
Comment from smoketoomuch
Time March 20, 2013 at 7:47 am
“a lifestyle that is one of excess.” Please. Ms. Bachman, do not insult our intelligence. You want “excess”? How about LIFETIME pay for congress members, how about FREE healthcare? How about excessive pay packages, and all of the other perks of elected national office? That is the problem with these damn people, they are too quick to point the finger at the President, instead of starting with themselves. Sorry, but Michelle Bachman, needs to clean her own house first (let’s start with term limits and limits on congressional compensation shall we?) Talk about being “out of touch”! This woman sickens me.
Comment from Anne’n'Spencer
Time March 18, 2013 at 7:39 am
I could have gone on happily for the rest of my life without knowing that Michele Bachmann has a Beagle. Hopefully she won’t decide he’s too expensive and get rid of him.
As for the white house dog walker, according to an article in the New York Times (that is a couple of years old) the task is handled when needed by somebody on the landscaping/gardening/horticultural staff. And it’s been that way since the days of Richard Nixon, who owned an Irish Setter called King Timahoe. I’m going to assume it’s OK to hire people to cut the grass and weed the flower beds…
There seems to be plenty of photographic evidence that shows various members of the First Family walking Bo.
So if $100,000 is being paid out, it’s going to the chief horticulturalist, who is actually being paid for his knowledge of plants, trees, and shrubs and for his supervision of a fairly large staff. I can hear it in my mind’s eye: “Sorry, Bibi. I can’t come to Israel to discuss the fate of the Middle East because we can’t find anybody to look after Bo that weekend.”
Michele Bachmann is an idiot, and not known for her veracity.