Posted on 01/04/2002 1:27:29 PM PST by dirtboy
I owe my husband 50 bucks. I'd said the dog wouldn't make it to 2002. I guess I underestimated the ex-president's caretaking skills.
Buddy, ostensibly beloved dog of the Clinton family, was accidentally struck Wednesday afternoon when he darted out in front of a car on a busy two-lane road at the end of the cul-de-sac where the Clinton house stands in Chappaqua, N.Y.
What happened to Buddy is precisely what can be expected to happen to a dog when it's meant to be little more than a pawn in its owners' continuing attempts to impersonate human beings.
I find myself wondering whether, upon hearing the news about Buddy, Clinton even remembered that he had a dog.
Granted, the dog was mostly under someone else's watch. Still, if you care about the dog, you lay down the law with the caretakers - or with the Secret Service, as the case may be. A dog's baby-sitters will take their cues from the dog's owner and will tend to be either as vigilant or as cavalier as the master. If the owner's attitude is lackadaisical, why should theirs be any less so?
I remember the day they told us that the President got a dog. As a dog lover, I was more than a little disturbed by the thought of a soft, fluffy and genuine thing getting into the clutches of that family. Does Hillary Rodham Clinton strike anyone as someone who likes dogs? (Actually, they did have a cocker spaniel when they were governor of Arkansas, but Hillary reportedly didn't like it in the house.)
It is worth noting that the Clintons got Buddy after they were already First Family and in the public eye, to bolster their image as a real family. In contrast, the first Bushes had had Millie for years before they got into the White House, and the current Bushes likewise were partial to dogs and got Spot (and Barney) before the world was watching.
To give credit where credit is due, at least Bill Clinton didn't entertain photographers and guests by dangling his dog by the ears while it squealed, the way that other great humanitarian, creator of the Great Society, Lyndon Johnson, did to his dogs Him and Her.
So Buddy's dead. Socks they gave away. Has anyone seen Chelsea?
Personally, I was surprised the girl made it past the '93 inauguration, having already done her part to fulfill the minimum family-unit requirement so her parents could have a political life. Of course, she was a self-sufficient adolescent by then, not quite as vulnerable as a dependent canine. The only visible, physical manifestations so far of the stress she's endured from playing her role are the smoking and the drinking (having held off on the latter all through college, until her parents were out of the White House). But notice how, in contradistinction to the mischievous Bush daughters, this kid was a stellar child; she never made a wrong move. She must have known her life - or rather, her parents' political lives - depended on it.
At any rate, the Clintons most likely won't be getting another dog, seeing as how it wouldn't serve any political end at this point.
If they should try, however, one would hope that the animal rights people make a negligence claim to try to prevent it. (More likely, though, their ideals will take a backseat to Bill Clinton's whims, just as those of the National Organization for Women did.)
Then again, one shouldn't rush to judgment, since we don't yet know the full story. Perhaps Buddy wanted to die. Maybe he pulled a Vince Foster. Maybe he had seen and heard too much in that house, was privy to too many unspeakable schemes and just couldn't take the guilt.
It did, in a way. Clinton failed to control bin Laden and three of our buildings got hit as a result...
He died in the street Wednesday afternoon, near the home that Clinton and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) share in Chappaqua, N.Y. The couple were in Acapulco, Mexico, vacationing with their daughter, Chelsea. The family is "devastated," said Julia Payne, a spokeswoman for the former president. ...
When pup and master met for the first time in the Oval Office, "he stuck right to the president right away, like, 'That's my dad!' " Glen Maes, a Clinton steward who helped with Buddy's training, recalled yesterday. "It was pretty neat. They were born to be together." ...
In her book, "Dear Socks, Dear Buddy: Kids' Letters to the First Pets," Hillary Clinton wrote: "While he loves to wander around, Buddy has always managed to find his way back to the Oval Office, and he seems most at home in the company of the president. When he arrives at the door and finds it closed, he stands patiently outside until someone lets him in. I wish everyone could see my husband beam when 'his Buddy' tears down the hall to welcome him home after he's been away for a day or two."
Felt sorry for that dog, the day they took hold of his leash. . .and told America his name. . .
What did they 'do' with Buddy. . .cremation? . . .burial or just 'disposal'?
Want the 'rest of the story'. . .
At least he wasn't found in Ft. Marcy Park with a gun in the wrong paw, and a bullet in his head ala Vince Foster.
.../sarcasm
Yeah!! Like it's master, probably on the prowl for a mate.
I bet that's actually true. All the more reason to wonder how anyone could abandon a pet. My household has two dogs and five cats -- all rescues.
Then again neither did, or does, this country.
"Julia Gorin (jegorin@erols.com) is a freelance writer and stand-up comedian in New York."
Evidently she doesn't much like her junior senator.
During the past week - I read a post here on FR saying that the dog the Clintons had when he was governor of Arkansas was also killed by being run over by a car.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.