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.
And if she actually read it. I'm the Empress of China!
. . .good point. . .and of course, she does not. . .
. . .still the question 'hangs' out there. . .what did they do about their beloved pet's remains?
. . .(Sorry Buddy, do not mean to drag this out but. . .this is important. . .)
Monica must've been inside...
The Clintons are "Plastic" people..heartless shells. Buddy was the only thing capable of love in that house!
Isn't total submissiveness a beautiful thing to see?
The Washington Post has long been Clintons faithful tail-wagging little doggie.
The press corp was jealous, they wanted to be the impeached president's lap dog. They rolled over for him all the time...
I'm confused. Will someone help me out, here? Isn't the one called "Chelsea," a dog?
only the bold print needed to be said...
...on second hand DON'T!
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