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For 'Buddy,' the Clintons just couldn't spare a dime
Philadephia Inquirer (believe it or not) ^ | 1/4/2002 | Julia Gorin

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.


TOPICS: Editorial; Politics/Elections
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To: mountaineer
OMG! What horrific tripe!

I can't believe they would even print such sap! I'm glad we're not allowed to post articles from that fawning fish wrap.

41 posted on 01/04/2002 2:11:59 PM PST by dead
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To: dirtboy
Buddy is just another name to add to the list of the climate of death that surrounds anyone connected with that hideous couple.

It reminds me of those movies about Satan in which Satan walks past a bouquet of flowers and they wilt and animals go into an insane frenzy.

42 posted on 01/04/2002 2:12:11 PM PST by Paul Atreides
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To: Lemonhead; kcvl; deport
I believe people have said that for years about this particular couple. Arkansas tornado, or something like that.
43 posted on 01/04/2002 2:13:30 PM PST by Howlin
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To: lsee
The Clintons would never own a parrot, since it might repeat what it hears....

Yeah, and they had to watch where they let Buddy dig. They got rid of Socks because Livia Rodham told Obubba Been Laiden to stay away from the p*ssy.

A boa constrictor would be a fitting pet for the Clintons.

44 posted on 01/04/2002 2:16:40 PM PST by Paul Atreides
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To: HoustonKevin
"Some said Zeke grew fat and listless afterward, but he escaped again in the fall of 1990 and was killed by a car on Broadway in Little Rock."

Just about the time Clinton decided to run for POTUS! Suspicious!

But you know, to the Clintons, ANY news is good news. Even news that demonstrates that pets at your home, for all intents and purposes, are on Death Row.

45 posted on 01/04/2002 2:17:51 PM PST by Howlin
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To: usconservative
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.

Sorry, but thats a lie. No gun was found near Vince Foster when he was first found. Perhaps if he had had a gun he'd be alive today.

46 posted on 01/04/2002 2:18:37 PM PST by Castlebar
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To: dirtboy; Snow Bunny; Alamo-Girl; Republican Wildcat; Howlin; Fred Mertz; onyx; RonDog...
For 'Buddy,' the Clintons just couldn't spare a dime

So Buddy's dead. Socks they gave away. Has anyone seen Chelsea?. . . . . .


Another funny! I wonder how many "Buddy" stories we'll see, anyway? :o)
(((PING))))))
Please let me know if you want ON or OFF my ping list!. . .don't be shy.
47 posted on 01/04/2002 2:19:14 PM PST by MeekOneGOP
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To: dirtboy
Heck, they only had Chelsea because an advisor told them to. Why should their decision to get a dog be any less cold-blooded.
48 posted on 01/04/2002 2:20:38 PM PST by lady lawyer
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To: dirtboy
Has P.E.T.A. issued a statement about this yet?

ML/NJ

49 posted on 01/04/2002 2:20:54 PM PST by ml/nj
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To: dirtboy
What is it with the previous "leaders" of the executive branch and dogs? Remember this story from a few years back about Al Gore's neglected dog:

Paul Harvey, June 22 1994
A secret service agent guarding VP Gore's house alerted the Humane Society when he noticed a growling and snarling dog underneath the VP's porch. Upon arrival, the HS vet ordered an immediate operation for the dog, which was suffering from a maggot infestation in one of its haunches due to an unattended open wound. The dog turned out to be the Gore family pet.

Thanks to FReeper Varmint Al for posting these links on his site:

Gore's Dog

Gore's Dog Left Outside to Die Under VP Porch

Gore's Poor Pup Coconut -- What Happened to Coconut?

50 posted on 01/04/2002 2:21:33 PM PST by Deckard
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To: js1138
"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."

I wish everyone could see Clinton beam when his sycophantic spineless soul-less lapdog, the Washington Post, tears down the hall to welcome him home after he's been away for a day or two.

51 posted on 01/04/2002 2:22:07 PM PST by Castlebar
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To: A CA Guy
We are lucky that what happened to the dog didn't end up totally happening to the US.

not yet anyway...

52 posted on 01/04/2002 2:25:19 PM PST by krodriguesdc
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To: dirtboy
I feel genuinely sad about the death of Buddy the dog. I do not care one bit for his ostensible owners. Buddy was a better being than Bill and Hill could ever hope to aspire to becoming.
53 posted on 01/04/2002 2:25:53 PM PST by Jay W
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To: krodriguesdc

54 posted on 01/04/2002 2:26:02 PM PST by krodriguesdc
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To: mountaineer
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."

If Hillary wrote that book, I'm the Pope.

55 posted on 01/04/2002 2:27:10 PM PST by jackbill
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To: dirtboy;Howlin;RedbloodedAmerican
This article is excellent.

Buddy was tired of Clinton. He tried to run over Bubba last year, remember?

Buddy:" Play with me more, or else!"

56 posted on 01/04/2002 2:30:19 PM PST by Teacup
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To: HoustonKevin
As a minor Anti-Christ, Clinton kills all life.
57 posted on 01/04/2002 2:30:41 PM PST by Helms
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To: jackbill
If Hillary wrote that book, I'm the Pope.

I think this is called reasoning from a false hypothesis.

ML/NJ

58 posted on 01/04/2002 2:31:54 PM PST by ml/nj
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To: Teacup

59 posted on 01/04/2002 2:34:28 PM PST by RedBloodedAmerican
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To: dirtboy
So Buddy's dead. Socks they gave away. Has anyone seen Chelsea?

I tell ya, it's those Bush tax cuts for the rich that are to blame!

60 posted on 01/04/2002 2:36:01 PM PST by Revolting cat!
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