ohmidog!

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)

Here’s Bo Obama, tip-toeing through the White House to check out the First Family’s holiday decorations — many of which he inspired.

The video was released by the White House yesterday.

The seasonal decorations include 40 “Bo-flake” ornaments hanging from the trees, a life-sized replica of Bo in the East Garden Room, and a larger than life, edible Bo in front of a 300-pound gingerbread house located in the State Dining Room.

About 90,000 visitors are expected to go through the White House this holiday season.

You can find out more about the 2012 White House Holiday celebrations, including the special tributes to troops, veterans and military families at wh.gov/holidays.

President Obama has turned to the cutest member of his admistration to raise funds for his  2012 campaign — Bo.

In one Internet ad, the first family’s Portuguese water dog  pops into the frame, with his tongue out, as the words “Join Pet Lovers for Obama” appear.

The Bo Obama Internet ad links to a sign-up page, giving readers an opportunity to donate to the campaign.

According to the Washington Post, Bo may be the first “first dog” to emerge as a central player in a presidential re-election campaign.

In 2004, George W. Bush’s campaign made a tongue-in-cheek video featuring Barney, Bush’s Scottish terrier, advising the Republican National Convention  on how to attract the “canine vote.”

But Bo’s appearances – coinciding with his third anniversary as a member of the Obama family (it’s Saturday) — are hoped to prove more viral and hard hitting.

They also seem to be an attempt to capitalize on the Crate-gate controversy dogging Mitt Romney, who transported his Irish setter Seamus in a crate atop the family station wagon for a 12-hour trip to Canada in the 1980s.

Republicans have fired back, pointing out that Obama — as he admits in his 2004 autobiography – ate dog meat as a child in Indonesia.

The economy may be bogged down, and peace on earth may be eluding us, but Bo Obama is ready for Christmas.

Here he is in an official White House photo, sitting nicely in front of a glowing fireplace, upon which the Obama family’s stockings, or reasonable facsimiles thereof, are hung by the chimney with care.

Two potted poinsettias are also featured (a plant that, while not likely to kill your dog if they eat one, can irritate their mouths and stomachs and result in vomiting, according to the ASPCA.)

Rather than focusing, Grinch-like, on that, though, we’ll tell you that Bo –  he’s two now — has become an integral part of the Obama family and their White House Christmas traditions.

This week, Michelle Obama and Bo visited the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. , where the First Lady, as she did last year, read “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.”

And the official White House Christmas card this year comes with the signatures, or reasonable facsimiles thereof, of all the Obamas, and includes a paw print from Bo.

For more photos of Bo and Christmas at the White House, visit PeoplePets.

(Official White House photo of Bo by Chuck Kennedy)

You can’t put a pricetag on the family dog, but in the case of Bo Obama it’s $1,600.

The value of Bo — a gift to the president from the late Sen. Ted Kennedy — was listed on annual financial disclosure forms the White House released Monday, according to the Associated Press.

Dollar-wise, the Portuguese water dog, was a mere drip compared to the president’s other income, including royalties from his books, “Dreams From My Father” and “Audacity of Hope,” which brought in between $1 million and $5 million each.

In addition to his $400,000 annual salary, Obama  listed a number investments which, including those held jointly with his wife, were worth between $2.2 million and $7.5 million in 2009. His Nobel Peace Prize carried a $1.4 million award, but the president donated that to charity.

(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

 
The White House released an official photo of  Bo playing in the record snow that pounded the Mid-Atlantic states. On Tuesday, when this photo was taken, it came up to the chest of the First Family’s Portuguese water dog. After Wednesday, it must be at least up to his neck. We’d show you where Bo peed, but that would be yellow journalism.

In honor of the one year anniversary of President Obama’s inauguration, Michelle Obama signaled their commitment to creating a more accessible White House by surprising visitors attending public tours.

That included access to Bo, as well — though he’s barely visible in this clip. We’ll just have to assume that he does indeed have a tongue.

First Lady Michelle Obama, along with daughters Malia and Sasha and first dog Bo, made an appearance at the Children’s National Medical Center Tuesday. Mrs. Obama, once Bo made sure Santa kept his distance, read “The Night Before Christmas” to the children.

 
Does Bo Obama long for a career in law enforcement, as opposed to politics?

The White House has released this photo of Bo Obama commandeering a police vehicle last week as it sat parked on the South Lawn of the White House.

The District of Columbia police motorcade escort car had just returned from Marine Corps Base Quantico, where Michelle Obama visited a Toys for Tots warehouse.

(Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)