He expands on his thesis, noting that:
The last occupant of the White House famously did not like dogs. And he was a dick. Those two facts are not unrelated. It does not mean that if you do not like dogs you will end up being the most corrupt president in American history or a racist, sex-abusing coup-plotter. It’s just more likely.
Living with a dog requires something crucial that Donald Trump did not have: empathy. You see, dogs can’t talk. They communicate all the time. But not with words. So, to care for them, to enjoy them, to get to know them, you have to be attentive to the clues they give you, their moods, their expressions, the way they lick their chops when they want a treat. And people who take the time to connect with animals are much more likely to be able to do the same with humans, to feel compassion, tenderness, and appreciation for other lives.
Biden is one of those people. In fact, the qualities that make him want to, need to, share his home with his dogs are precisely the same as those that led many to choose him over Trump.
They are the kind of qualities that we value in friends and colleagues. They are the kind that we celebrate at this time of year. They are the kind that seem especially important in the Washington of today, when the Joe Manchins of this world kick the needy and hungry children of America to the curb to serve their greed-driven, discredited, hypocritical, immoral agendas. (It turns out a lump of Santa’s coal has nothing on the lump of Big Coal Manchin just put in our stockings.)
Of course, having a dog is not a guarantee that a president will be a person of character. Nixon had Checkers, after all—also a Yorkie, a poodle and an Irish setter. In fact, almost all presidents have had dogs. Washington is considered not only the father of our country but also of a breed of dogs he helped create, the American foxhound. Jefferson, as you might expect, chose to focus on a French breed, the Briard. Franklin Roosevelt had a famous pup named Fala who received his own fan mail and also eight others… including a German shepherd named Major.
Not having a dog or any kind of furry friend, however, is a warning sign. Other than Trump, only two previous presidents had no pets while in office. One was Andrew Johnson, who Trump aspired to emulate and who, like Trump, was impeached and disgraced and refused to attend his successor’s inauguration. The other was James K. Polk, best known for starting the Mexican-American War (something Trump always hoped he might do.)
Related Posts:
- The White House Goes to the Dogs
- A New Puppy at the White House
- Look Alikes in the White House
- The White House Puppy No One Wanted
- President Tyler's Wolfhounds?
- Dog Politics: Barry Goldwater vs LBJ
- Teddy Roosevelt's Terriers
- The Terriermen of Mount Rushmore
- Teddy Roosevelt's White House Zoo
- How About a Pygmy Hippo for the Whitehouse?
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