Washington - Harry S Truman once offered biting advice that,
so far, all of his successors as president have gladly followed: 'If
you want a friend in Washington, you should buy a dog.'
But four-legged friends in the White House are far more than just
dependable friends in the lonesome business of politics - they
guarantee voters' sympathies.
Americans are crazy about pets, with at least one living in almost
two-thirds of US households. Not surprisingly, most of the more than
20 hopefuls for the presidential elections in 2008 are already pet
owners. Two of those heretofore petless recently proclaimed they want
to go to the dogs too.
So chances are good that barks will continue to echo through the
halls of the White House after incumbent George W Bush leaves office.
The candidates, just like the American people, prefer dogs as their
animal companions.
Democratic top candidates Hillary Clinton and John Edwards both
have a dog, as does one of the Republican front-runners, John McCain.
If election victory was solely dependent on the pet factor, the
Arizona senator would have excellent chances at a landslide victory:
a cat, two turtles, a ferret, three parakeets and 13 saltwater fish
inhabit the 70 year old's house along with his two dogs.
Democratic hopeful Barack Obama, likewise among the top candidates
according to polls, does not belong among the circle of pet owners.
But he has promised to buy his little daughters a puppy should he
conquer the White House.
Democrat Chris Dodd is also longing for a cold snout. While the
senator from Connecticut has been petless so far due to family
members? allergies, he is now looking for a dog breed that will not
cause his loved ones to sneeze.
That makes New York's ex-mayor Rudy Giuliani and Republican
Representative Tom Tancredo the only hopefuls that neither have a pet
nor any intention of getting one.
Not a good prerequisite for winning the White House: From first
president George Washington to his namesake George W Bush, US
presidents have traditionally been pet lovers, as the Presidential
Pet Museum in Annapolis, Maryland, documents.
Its collection ranges from a paw autograph of Ronald Reagan?s dog
Lucky and the bell of William Howard Taft?s cow Pauline Wayne, to a
life-size bronze statue of Barney, one of the current president?s
dogs.
Museum founder Claire McLean, 73, knows the stories of the 400
pets that have lived in the White House like no one else. Ever since
1985, when the dog groomer was summoned to the White House to clip
the hair of Reagan?s dog Lucky, she has been collecting memorabilia
of the first pets. In 1998, she decided to display her collection
publicly.
'I opened the museum to document our presidents? fondness of
animals, hoping that people will follow the presidents? example and
treat their pets well,' says McLean, who named her two cats after
Gerald Ford?s wife Betty and Bill Clinton?s daughter Chelsea.
According to McLean, animals have always played a role in
politics. During World War I, Woodrow Wilson had his sheep 'mow' the
White House lawn to support the war efforts by saving money for the
gardener.
Soviet leader Nikita Krushchev gave Kennedy?s young daughter
Caroline a space puppy, Pushinka whose mother Streika had flown
aboard Sputnik 5. Pushinka, or 'Fluffy,' was a peace offering after
the Cuban missile crisis. The Kennedys gladly accepted, but only
after the dog was intensely searched for bugs.
And when Ford had golden retriever Liberty brought into the Oval
Office to play, his visitors knew that their time with the head
of state was up.
The only president to experience negative effects by owning a pet
was Lyndon B Johnson. Already widely unpopular due to the war in
Vietnam, he earned additional public scorn when pulling his beagle?s
ears on television.
The importance of animal support in times of war was recently
demonstrated by Bush, who is increasingly experiencing isolation due
to the disaster in Iraq.
He recently bitterly remarked that he will not pull the troops out
of Iraq even if his Scottish terrier Barney and wife Laura were the
only ones left who supported him.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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