Newt Gingrich Slams Press Over First Dog Bo

Is the Coming of the Obama Dog, a Portuguese Water Dog Named Bo, that Important?

Saul Relative
It has become official. The Obamas have a dog. His name is Bo. But he won't be the First Mutt. He is a Portuguese Water Dog. And who really cares? At least that is the sentiment of former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.

Appearing on ABC's "This Week," Republican Newt Gingrich said, "I hope the girls love the dog. I hope the family -- and all the pressure they're going to be in -- finds it useful. And I think that this whole thing is fairly stupid."

Of course, the former Speaker is not talking about the Obamas getting a dog. That is a normal event in everyday America. He is talking about the hoopla of the coming of the First Dog.

"It's great that they have a dog. It's great that the kids are adjusting. And where they got it from -- who cares? It's a nice gesture on Senator Kennedy's part to give it to them but who cares?"

And the former Speaker makes a good point. The subject of the First Dog has become a runaway media hit since President Elect Obama announced that he had promised Sasha and Malia a dog when they got to the White House. Reporters have thrown a question about the dog at him at hundreds of press opportunities.

But in the end, it is just a dog.

And it was telling on the First Lady as well. When asked when the dog would arrive this past week, Michelle Obama got an exasperated look on her face and said, "Soon."

Perhaps she's as tired of hearing about the First Dog as Newt Gingrich.

According to ABC News, Bo is supposed to arrive Tuesday. The girls got the idea to name the First Dog Bo after their cousins' cat, which is named Bo, and the Michelle Obama's father's nickname, which is Diddley. As in Bo Diddley.

Still, former Speaker New Gingrich has a point. The dog is a nice distraction, but it isn't important. While Detroit continues to fall apart and the economy seems to want to wallow, while the unemployment rolls keep getting longer and drug cartels turn our southern border into a shooting gallery, while North Korea decides to test ballistic missiles capable of carrying a payload to American and allies' shores, while Somali pirates capture more and more ships in the Indian Ocean, and while mass murders become an almost daily occurrence in the United States, it must be of some comfort to know that much of the events that impact the lives of so many take a back seat to a story about a Portuguese water dog named Bo.

******

Source:

CNN.com

ABCNews.go.com

"This Week with George Stephanopoulos," ABC Television

Published by Saul Relative

WVU graduate, with degrees in History, English, Secondary Education, Computer Programming, and Psychology (and nearly a degree in Political Science). Originally from West Virginia, with stints in Virginia,...   View profile

14 Comments

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  • Roberta Baxter 1/20/2011

    WEll covered event.

  • Eric 4/14/2009

    There are soldiers dying in Iraq and afghanistan and the press is all over Bo the dog? I can almost certainly gurantee that a soldiers family could care less about Bo the dog. What has this world come to? The country is in a recession but yet guess what the Obama's have a dog. This is very very sad. Thank you Media for this.

  • Greenhill 4/14/2009

    Bo was named for Bo Diddley (did I spell that right?)

  • Anne Stjern 4/13/2009

    Well at least "Newt" didn't make fun of "Bo" as a name.

  • ScoutieDog 4/13/2009

    Lighten up, Newt. Didn't you ever have a pet growing up?

  • Tyler Mills 4/13/2009

    Newt is right on this one. I rarely agree with Newt, but he at least comes up with some fresh ideas. It is just that his reasons and motives behind those ideas are intellectually and morally dishonest. Yes, a liberal like me played the moral card.

  • Anne 4/13/2009

    Newt is getting a bad rap about this. Newt loves animals. He is a faithful supporters of AMerican Zoos and donated a ton of money to the Atlanta Zoo to purchase unusal animals. Give the guy a break!

  • Ken 4/13/2009

    I think Newt is angry that people are more interested in the president's dog than they are in republicans. Many of us are very interested and proud of our first family.

  • Michael Schaper 4/13/2009

    I agree with the former speaker Gingrich! Who gives a care about the Obama's new dog. Does it have some majic powers. Is Bo going to fix the economy, end the war on terror. The media has way too much time on their hands and should really focus on what has happened since Obama was inaugerated which is that crime has sky rocketted and our hope is dwindling.

  • BCL 4/13/2009

    Newt as usual is right on. Of course, an artile about somebody commenting on the press commenting on the dog is also fairly stupid.

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