Published: August 29, 2008 12:34 am            

Animal magnetism and the race for the White House

Thursday, on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic “I have a dream” speech, Barack Obama made history by becoming the first black man to accept a major party’s nomination for president of the United States.

Obama has a large team of advisers around him, keeping him abreast of the latest poll numbers and working hard to craft his image as he makes his run for the White House.

Thus, he doesn’t need me to tell him what to do if he wants to become the next president.

But I have some advice for him anyway — get a dog, or a cat, for that matter.

Pets have been as much a part of the White House scene as reporters and Secret Service agents, for nearly as long as there has been a White House.

George Washington, who did not live in the White House, had seven horses, more then a dozen dogs (including hounds named Drunkard and Sweetlips) and a parrot belonging to his wife, Martha.

Zachary Taylor had a canary named Johnny Ty, who died shortly after an attempt to pair him with a mate — which turned out to be another male canary.

The Abraham Lincoln White House featured a pig, a dog, ponies, a rabbit, goats, cats and a turkey.

Andrew Johnson had no pets, but was said to leave flour out at night to feed a family of mice that played in his room during the darkest days of his impeachment.

Rutherford B. Hayes owned pedigreed Jersey cows, the first Siamese kitten to reach America, five dogs, a goat, four canaries, four other kittens, a mockingbird and several horses.

Paulie Wayne was the last cow to reside at the White House, belonging to William Howard Taft.

Some more recent, and more famous, presidential pets have been Franklin D. Roosevelt’s loyal Scottish terrier, Fala; Gerald Ford’s golden retriever, Liberty; George H.W. Bush’s springer spaniel, Millie; Bill Clinton’s battling animals, Socks the cat and Buddy, the chocolate Labrador retriever; and George W. Bush’s Scottish terriers, Miss Beazley and Barney.

The Democratic nominee has no pets however, which is one reason he trails in a recent poll conducted by The Associated Press and Yahoo News.

The poll found pet owners favor Republican John McCain 42 percent to 37 percent over Obama.

Obama, who calls himself the candidate for change, has pledged to change his pet-less status. He has promised his daughters to get them a dog once the campaign is over.

The American Kennel Club conducted an online poll seeking suggestions for the Obama family dog, and a poodle came out on top.

But that might be too late for his presidential hopes.

McCain has a huge lead in the pet department, owning Sam, the English springer spaniel; Coco, the mutt; a pair of turtles, Cuff and Link (a direct steal from the first “Rocky” film); Oreo, the black and white cat; a ferret; three parakeets; and a bunch of saltwater fish.

Obama leads among non-pet owners, 48 percent to 34 percent. But since most American homes (63 percent) include pets, this could spell trouble for the Democrats.

Actually a cat would be a perfect pet for Sen. Obama, given his emphasis on change. I speak from experience, having to change our cats’ litter box every couple of days, and to change my clothes when one of them sheds all over me.

I would think a pet would be a must for any president. After all, they’ll never run against you, they can’t vote against you, they won’t leak any secrets to the press and will never write a lick and tell book.



Mullin is senior writer of the News & Eagle.