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What Obama Can Learn from Mickey Rourke
If a Chihuahua could help resurrect an acting career, think what a Labradoodle could do in the White House. Nicolle Wallace on how the president can cope with the ups and downs ahead.
When Gertrude Stein wrote, “I am because my little dog knows me,” she didn’t have Mickey Rourke, George W. Bush or Barack Obama in mind, but she may as well have.
This week’s Golden Globe Awards struck me for what they finally offered: some straight talk that must have made publicists cringe. Colin Farrell joked about his bad-boy past by explaining that his cold really was a cold. Emma Thompson made a crack about older actors offering discounts for those who will hire them, drawing attention to Hollywood’s inflated paychecks and age bias. Tina Fey spoke to the haters out there on the Internet, telling them all to “suck it.” And Mickey Rourke thanked his dogs—both living and dead—when he won the Best Actor award for his role in The Wrestler.
Many saw Barney as a dog that only his master could love. But Barney didn’t care. He had a circle of one.
As a dog lover myself, I hopped online to see what kind of dog Rourke had. In my mind, I pictured a Rottweiler or a pit bull. I was shocked to learn that Rourke is a Chihuahua man—his loves, Loki, Taco Bell, and Beau Jack, have played a significant role in his comeback and, seemingly, in his survival during some rather dark days. In an interview I ran across from November 2008, he said of Loki: “She’s like a giant Xanax, you know? I’m not going to get religious on your ass, but I truly believe God created dogs for a cause. They are the greatest companions a man could ever have.”
I’m quite certain that George W. Bush would agree with Mickey Rourke on that account. In one of the more frank moments of a very frank press conference, Bush warned Obama on Monday that his friends would, at times, disappoint him. As high as Obama is flying today, over the next four or eight years, I’m sure Bush will be proven correct. And that’s where the dog comes in. Dogs never disappoint you.
Bush would know. His dog, Barney, was hopelessly devoted to him during my time at the White House. That devotion did not extend to his White House staff. Most of the staff members saw a lot more of Barney’s ornery side than his cuddly side. And whether they admitted it or not, many saw Barney as a dog that only his master could love. But Barney didn’t care. He had a circle of one, and when a public performance was asked of him, he never disappointed with his annual holiday “Barney Cam” extravaganza.
Presidents and their dogs go way back. It must be something about the gravity of the office that makes a dog’s unflinching loyalty appeal to a commander in chief. In the East Wing of the White House there’s a photo display of first families and their pets. The addition of a dog to Obama’s inner circle is wise. Thank goodness his daughters won that debate. And not that Obama is looking for my advice, but I have some for him anyway: Bring home the dog, already. Labrador-poodle mix or Portuguese water dog—either way: Take the plunge. It will be hard at first. Your socks will disappear from your laundry. Your meals will be interrupted by his pleading eyes. He will pee in the house even though you just took him out. He will want to play when you want to sleep. He will eat things he’s not supposed to eat. You will find yourself in the animal emergency room with him from time to time, and you will realize you’re like all the other pet owners in America—praying to God that the light of your daughters’ eyes comes through OK because now that he’s part of the family, you can’t remember life before him. And even after all these inconveniences, he will still be the creature who demands the least of you and gives the most.
Even though you have a million people ready to take responsibilities off your hands, don’t hand off Fido. Rub his belly. Let him sleep with the girls. Take him out in the morning and enjoy watching the sun light up the Washington Monument while he does his business. I know it’s hard to imagine right now with the entire nation—Democrats and Republicans—pulling for you, but trust me on this one. As the enormity of the office you are about to assume sets in next Tuesday, you will appreciate the precious gift of a little dog who knows you.
Nicolle Wallace served as a senior advisor to the McCain-Palin campaign from May to November 2008. Prior to joining the McCain campaign, she worked as a political analyst at CBS News. She served George W. Bush as an assistant to the president and director of communications for the White House from January 2005 to June 2006, as communications director for President Bush's 2004 re-election campaign, and as special assistant to the president and director of media affairs at the White House.
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Nicolle Wallace served as a senior adviser to the McCain-Palin campaign from May to November 2008. She served President George W. Bush as an assistant to the president and director of communications for the White House, as well as communications director for President Bush's 2004 campaign.
A family with two little girls definitely needs TWO dogs--one for each bed. I hope that that will be the eventual decision. As Wallace points out, a President needs a friend with the loyalty and patience that only a dog can provide. However, two little girls, in the glare of the unrelenting press and curious public, may have even greater needs. Our goldendoodle has the skills and the wisdom to at least temporarily shield us from the noisy outside world. All that love for such a small price--a pat on the head and a tennis ball.
Cats are low profile and maybe not as high on the cute factor as dogs, but nirvana is a purring cat on your lap. No one can experience that and feel alone in the world.
Banal.
I have never agreed with anything Wallace has said, until now. Nice piece from an obvious dog lover. I have linked to it on my blog, The Obama Dog Blog...
My dog scanner say's to say Hi.
Nice one, Nicolle. As someone who watched you with varying degrees of anger, frustration and disbelief during the campaign and your time in the Bush White House, I'm happy to see some common ground emerge. You're so right about our furry friends. I just hope you're right in your assertion that the entire nation is pulling for the incoming administration to succeed. The haters are already out there. Maybe they should get a dog to learn some love.
Banal.. what a cute name for your dog.
Whenever someone such as Nicolle Wallace tells me she's a "dog lover," I have to wonder about bestiality.
We have two dogs and eleven cats. Rosie the chihuahua is the queen of the house (well, next to mom) and she is more loyal than any so-called friend or lover. If you want conversation, hang out with your buddies. If you want loyalty, hang out with your dog.
P.S.
Like many awful writers, Nicolle believes that "enormity" means "enormousness."
From the American Heritage Dictionary:
1. The quality of passing all moral bounds; excessive wickedness or outrageousness.
2. A monstrous offense or evil; an outrage.
Usage Problem: Great size; immensity: "Beyond that, [Russia's] sheer enormity offered a defense against invaders that no European nation enjoyed" (W. Bruce Lincoln).
------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------
ETYMOLOGY:
French énormité, from Old French, from Latin normits, from normis, unusual, enormous ; see enormous
Usage Note:
Enormity is frequently used to refer simply to the property of being great in size or extent, but many would prefer that enormousness (or a synonym such as immensity) be used for this general sense and that enormity be limited to situations that demand a negative moral judgment, as in Not until the war ended and journalists were able to enter Cambodia did the world really become aware of the enormity of Pol Pot's oppression. Fifty-nine percent of the Usage Panel rejects the use of enormity as a synonym for immensity in the sentence At that point the engineers sat down to design an entirely new viaduct, apparently undaunted by the enormity of their task. This distinction between enormity and enormousness has not always existed historically, but nowadays many observe it. Writers who ignore the distinction, as in the enormity of the President's election victory or the enormity of her inheritance, may find that their words have cast unintended aspersions or evoked unexpected laughter.
$775 billion: Expected cost of the economic stimulus plan.
$1.2 trillion: Projected federal deficit for 2009.
$30 billion: Annual shortfall to end world hunger.
Political priorities by the numbers. Read more about it on the Borgen Project website (borgenproject.org)
Don't disagree with the concept that a dog is a man's best friend, however it's always a good idea to have some yuks in an otherwise trivial useless article.
I vote for a big dog. Golden Retriver, or Black Lab. Protective, but family loving. Smart too.
Hmmm. Even though there was a time there were I really, really, really, really didn't like you, Nicolle, as a fellow dog-lover with two wonderful pups that are the lights of my life, I couldn't agree with you more on this issue. Very poignantly written. And as another poster wrote above, c'mon, Mr. President-Elect... get TWO dogs!!
And for what it's worth, I'm still convinced you're the "on-background" McCain staffer who told Politico that Sarah Palin (aptly dubbed ""Blamey Whinehouse" by Daily Show last night) was a "diva" and a "whacko." At least, I'm hoping that was you. And if it was, I take back every bad thing I ever groused about you, and would happily buy you a drink next week during the Inauguration. :-)
Write the damned book already!!! Dish!
Finally something Nicolle Wallace and I can agree on; I wouldn't have thought the day would come. May we all try to be a little more like the dogs in our lives. That would make for a much better world.
To me Mickey Rourke is a breath of fresh air these days. He's someone who's made mistakes and suffered for those mistakes. He acknowledges this. Brings to mind the days when Robert Blake would have similar off the cuff conversations with Johnny Carson.
It wasn't just "plug, plug, plug the latest project and, yes, everybody was great to work with and aren't I special?"
Yeah, Nicolle. What did u say to us when a retard was running for vice? I don't wanna hear d*&^ from u about anything, anytime, ever again. U and you're lying geriatric lied and lost and now u should go away forever. I can't believe this site is accepting articles from no-talent hacks like you. Get the hell out of my life and out of my news media. U, Palin, Joe the Plumber and all you a**holes that tried to sign this country away to another 4 years of war and hate.
Did working on McCain's campaign leave you without a brain?
Thank you.
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