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Self & Society Nobody’s Mad at Barney by Julie Fonda Everybody’s mad at George Bush. I hear about it on the news every night. Some are mad about the War in Iraq, and others are angry about the National Debt. Many are skeptical of Bush’s plan to privatize Social Security. The Blue states are mad at the Red states, and the Dems are saying that the Inauguration is costing too much. Illegal Immigration has the American worker up in arms, and everyone is outraged about the breaches and bureaucratic blunders in Homeland Security. We are a nation of acrimonious constituents. At this time, though, I’d like to set our contentions aside and interject a little levity into the picture. I would like to offer up something that we can all agree on -- someone at the White House that no one is mad at. Call it a unifying element to help congeal the oil-and-water mix of American politics. It’s not Red; nor is it Blue. It’s Black. I’m referring to the Bush family dog, "Barney." Barney is an exceptionally personable Scottish terrier, who chases Christmas balls around the Oval Office, frolics with his soccer ball on the White House lawn, and skids across the polished parquet floors of the First Family residence. Barney-boy has charmed America’s children with his playful antics and abundance of comical expressions. When all else in American politics yields animosity and enmity, we can count on old Barney to tickle our funny bone. I discovered Barney when I logged on to the White House Web Site. And there he was -- starring in his very own videos, Barney Cam One, Two and Three and Barney’s Christmas Production, In Search of Miss Beazley. And who is "Miss Beazley?" She is the Scottish terrier that the President gave to Laura Bush for her birthday this year – a "mini-Barney," so to speak. And hence, "Vice-Puppy," Miss Beazley, arrived on the White House scene. In his latest Barney Production, Barney has found Miss Beazley*, Barney received his first introduction to Miss Beazley, his little sister. Well technically, Miss Beazley is Barney’s niece, but who’s worrying about technicalities? Yes, world affairs are stormy, and the state of the Union is conflicted and tortuously complex. We Americans are never short on domestic controversy. But there is one thing that we can all agree upon: Barney and Miss Beazley are cute. At their first meeting, Barney didn’t know what to make of Miss Beazley. He probably didn’t realize that she was staying for good. And when Miss Beazley met Barney, she was so confused that she took off running. Without revealing my party affiliation, I’d like you to know that the White House pets have always held my fascination. And my interest in them is wholly bipartisan. Clinton had a Chocolate Labrador named "Buddy" and a cat named "Socks." And -- believe it or not -- there was dissension in the Clinton White House that the media never caught. "Socks," the cat, and "Buddy," the White House Dog, did not get along. "Heidi," the Weimaraner, was the "First Dog" of the Eisenhower Administration. And who can forget President Nixon’s beloved dog "Checkers" who was immortalized in Nixon’s famous "Checkers Speech?" In the 1960’s, Caroline Kennedy had a pony named "Macaroni." And every little American girl wanted a pony just like Caroline’s. The Kennedy’s had more pets than Macaroni Pony. Within the compounds of the First Residence lived two more ponies, several dogs, a cat, parakeets, a canary, a "wabbit" named "Zsa Zsa," and "Debbie" and "Billie," the White House hamsters. The most politically-charged pet at the Kennedy White House was "Pushinka," the pup of a Soviet space dog. The President's daughter, Caroline, accepted this dog from Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev as a peace offering after the Cuban Missile Crisis. Ronald Regan kept dogs of exotic breeds. "Lucky" was a Bouvier de Flandres, and "Rex" was a King Charles Cavalier. Is it possible that "Reganomics" influenced the picking of those Presidential Pups? "Ebenezer" was the name of President Coolidge’s donkey. And President Carter’s daughter, Amy, named the White House cat "Misty Malarkey Ying Yang." President Lyndon Johnson called the First Mongrel "Yuki," and Jacqueline Kennedy’s horse, "Sardar," bore a name that reflected the First Lady’s timeless sophistication. Along with the White House cats, dogs, birds and fish lived garter snakes, a horned toad, geese, raccoons and even a flying squirrel. This menagerie of Presidential Pets has piqued the interest of America’s children and graced the White House with their affection, companionship and an abundance of comic relief. So my fellow Country-men-and-women, I can only conclude that leaders of the free world (and their families) must possess a human side. Why else would President Truman have said, "If you want to have a friend in Washington, you should buy a dog"? Right now, the dynamics between Barney and Miss Beazley bear close watching. Will President Bush’s black cat, "India," get along with the newest Presidential Puppy? And will Barney show Miss Beazley how to dig and bark and beg for treats from the White House Chefs? I eagerly await the next Barney Production. Will it be Barney Bites Miss Beazley? Or maybe, Miss Beazley Chases the White House Cat? We can only speculate on what White House "animal-antics" the future will bring. If you would like to see Barney in action, please check out this web site: http://www.whitehouse.gov/kids/index.html# SOURCES: http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/Jan97/firstpets.hrs.html http://www.worldandi.com/subscribers/feature_detail.asp?num=24178 http://clinton4.nara.gov/WH/kids/html/pets.html http://clinton4.nara.gov/WH/kids/inside/html/Spring99-2.html http://www.whitehouse.gov/president/holiday/historicalpets3/ http://news.nationalgeographic.com/kids/2004/02/prespets.html About the Author(s): Julie Fonda can be contacted at authorette3000@yahoo.com. See under Our Contributors to find out about the Author(s) of this article. |
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