NYT's Collins, Obsessed With Romney Dog Story, Defends Obama's Dog-Eating: 'Not the Same'
In her Saturday column for the New York Times, Gail Collins, who has made a smug little cottage industry out of her obsession (a few dozen column mentions) with Mitt Romney securing the family dog in a hutch on the roof of his car on a family vacation over 20 years ago, finally, if reluctantly, referenced the fact that Obama ate dog as a boy in Indonesia. Romney's story was much worse, she insisted, in "Obama's Wonderful Town."
Collins, the paper's former editorial page editor, also fawned over revelations in an upcoming biography of Obama by David Maraniss excerpted in Vanity Fair.
Today, the story of the bare-chested crossword-puzzle solver.
Barack Obama barely mentions his New York years in his autobiography, “Dreams From My Father.” I have always wanted to know more, ever since I learned that in 1981, when he was a student at Columbia, we lived within a few blocks of each other. Also, we patronized the same diner, and his first book editor was the editor of one of my books. So, really, we are practically the same person.
....
The Barack Obama the New York women describe seems more appropriate for a Noël Coward play than The National Enquirer. He accuses one girlfriend of sharing T.S. Eliot’s “irreconcilable ambivalence.” The other depicts him on Sunday mornings “drinking coffee and solving The New York Times crossword puzzle, bare-chested, wearing a blue and white sarong.” For cheap thrills, he does once appear clad in a “T-shirt depicting buxom women.”
Obama was still rather young to have that T-shirt held against him in 2012, but his New York period is fair game for reasonable amounts of scrutiny. The only absolute rule is to discount things a presidential candidate did before age 18. If Mitt Romney names Marco Rubio as his vice presidential nominee, it is not fair to point out that Rubio was also once a Mormon because the conversion and deconversion happened between the ages of 8 and 13.
Also eating dog meat when you are a child in Indonesia is not the same thing as driving to Canada with the family Irish setter strapped to the roof of the car when you are 36.
Jim Treacher, the Daily Caller blogger who brought Obama's dog-eating (from his first autobiography) into the spotlight, previously responded to that sort of argument: "...a note to Andrea Mitchell and everyone else bleating, 'He was 6!' Obama wasn’t 6 when he bragged about it in his book. He wasn’t 6 when he read the audiobook with the amusing anecdote about eating the same sort of animal that his genius campaign manager claims to be so concerned about."
- Clay Waters's blog
- Login to post comments
Comments
Obama could still be eating
Submitted by clancie on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 7:51am.
Obama could still be eating dog (for all we know he is. He never exactly said it was distasteful), wearing dog and have a dog skin rug laid out in the Oval Office, and our pathetic excuse of a 'news media' would make excuses.
Indeed!
Submitted by Tugboat Phil on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 8:46am.
He said in the book that he learned to eat dog away from the dinner table. No mention of it being a one tie deal, or that he doesn't still do it. \
Anyone ever see a stray dog near the White House? Didn't think so.
Not the same. Worse.
Submitted by allouchsit on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 9:15am.
Of course putting a dog on the roof of your car is "not the same" as eating the dog. Eating the dog is much, much worse. Seamus liked being on the roof. No dog likes being eaten. Why would anyone thing they are the same?
Wok a dog
Submitted by frank_andrini on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 9:41am.
Do you suppose the Presidential Library contains a copy of that old standby '39 Ways to Wok a Dog'?
Everyone must decide
Submitted by HockeyKid on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 7:53am.
Which is more deplorable: a dog named Seamus, or a poser in the WH whose Native American name would be Shame Us.
"Beauty is only skin deep, but liberal's to the bone." - me
calling AIM
Submitted by frank_andrini on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 11:23am.
Interestingly enough the American Indian Movement- based in Chicago still I believe- has yet to be heard from on this issue. Where art thou Brothers?
I wonder if this was the
Submitted by texastommy on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 7:54am.
I wonder if this was the bitch that Romney had on the roof of his car. That would explain a lot.
Apples and oranges
Submitted by DontFeedTheTrolls on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 8:04am.
Romney's dog lived to a ripe old age, and may have enjoyed the wind in his face on that trip (ever see a dog with his head out the window, jowls and ears flapping in the wind?).
The dog(s) Obama ate never had such a good life.
Which dog would you rather be?
DFTT that is what I thought.
Submitted by inquiringmind on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 9:00am.
DFTT that is what I thought. Of course it is not the same... the Romneys dog lived!
As the analogy shows.
Submitted by The Vet on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 9:46am.
Even in countries where they eat dog, it is still considered a shameful act. Thus learning to eat it away from the dinner table.
Dogs were slaughtered to feed a young Obama. It is a shameful act.
bare-chested, wearing a blue and white sarong????
Submitted by motherbelt on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 8:32am.
Yep, sounds like Noel Coward to me!
I have an idea
Submitted by Kevin Groenhagen on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 8:55am.
Let's strap Gail Collins atop a car and drive her to Canada.
Y'all just don't get it
Submitted by cocodrie on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 9:07am.
Romney was helping his dog to selfishly enjoy one of the greatest pleasures in a dog's life. Obabble was helping a dog sacrifice himself to save a pig's life and is now busy saving america from prosperity, freedom and capitalism.
Jesus Loves You so much He died for you
I used to have,
Submitted by Boudin on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 9:14am.
A dog that would ride on the roof. Twernt tied there either.
Good morning Boudin
Submitted by cocodrie on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 9:23am.
It had to be a sight more enjoyable on the roof rather than in the back seat with all those kids.
Jesus Loves You so much He died for you
Makes me
Submitted by Boudin on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 9:51am.
Smile to think of ol Rezz. That dog loved to ride, would jump through your car/truck window in full stride, while your trying to get away. And if the widows were up, he would ride on top, on all fours. Good thing all I had were wrecks back then.
Hhmm, that reminds me of my ol dog Wrecks, : ] He loved to ride also.
~That reminds me
Submitted by Wrathful Brunette on Sat, 05/12/2012 - 12:18pm.
Stop me if I've told you this one.
We've got a tortoiseshell tabby that likes to jump in car windows and curl up for a snooze. Several neighbors have nearly driven away with her by accident, only becoming aware of her presence when they started the car and saw a striped ball of fur go flying back out the window.
One night I took the computer out to the minivan in the driveway to get a better satellite signal, where I rolled up the open passenger window since it was getting cool. A few minutes later I was startled by the "WHAP" of something rather large and furry coming into violent contact with the glass and sliding down with an "eeeeeeeeek" sound reminiscent of a slapstick comedy sound effect.
I laughed till I nearly cried; just thinking about it now still makes me LOL.
Well she is right about one thing
Submitted by Boudin on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 9:07am.
Taking the Family dog on Vacation with you, is not the same as eating him,,,,,,,even when eating dog is against the law.
Obama doesnt seem to have much use for the law?
Give it a rest, Collins
Submitted by Galvanic on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 9:16am.
The dog story is ancient. Your obsession with it is disturbing, and you may need professional counseling.
COLLINS: . . . If Mitt Romney names Marco Rubio as his vice presidential nominee, it is not fair to point out that Rubio was also once a Mormon because the conversion and deconversion happened between the ages of 8 and 13.
So it's not fair to point it out, but you just did.
Any wonder why public distrust with the MSM grows each year?
What A Pathetic Loser
Submitted by Dutch on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 9:14am.
Barack Obama barely mentions his New York years in his autobiography, “Dreams From My Father.” I have always wanted to know more, ever since I learned that in 1981, when he was a student at Columbia, we lived within a few blocks of each other. Also, we patronized the same diner, and his first book editor was the editor of one of my books. So, really, we are practically the same person.
Reading the above, "pathetic loser" was my reaction. Actually, the above wasn't pathetic until the "So, really, we are practically the same person". It's natural to find it interesting that you once lived near a future President, and even had a book editor in common; but to take it to "we are practically the same person" is just sad. It's like people who read the tabloids shrieking with joy when they see pics of a celeb walking their dog- "I walk my dog! Just like that celebrity! We're practically the same person!" Pathetic.
And the only reason his eating dog was brought up is because he and his campaign made a huge deal out of Seamus. The way that story was trotted out, I initially thought that trip had killed Seamus; The hysteria over what was, at worst, an error in judgment, required a response. Obama ate a dog. As DFTT pointed out above, were I dog I would much rather have been Seamus than dinner in a third world crap hole.
The fact is, they are trying to dismiss his dog eating because it's gross and offensive. Period.
Did Obama ever explained why his mother shipped . . .
Submitted by Galvanic on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 9:21am.
. . . from Indonesia to live in Hawaii? Not having read his books, I don't know. But it would seem rather curious that after his father abandoned the family, his mother essentially abandoned him. I'm not a psychologist (nor do I play one on TV) but I would think these damaged relationships would have a heavy impact on the pscyche of the young Barack.
It would certainly explain
Submitted by Dutch on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 9:36am.
It would certainly explain his adoration and desire for a cradle-to-grave nanny state.
That's what I'm thinking
Submitted by Galvanic on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 10:40am.
For a child to experience serious social displacement (rejection?) probably stimulates insecurities that he/she turns toward a more powerful authority to remedy -- the State.
Cut to the chase
Submitted by Kingfish17 on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 9:31am.
Let's cut to the chase: If Obama had at one point in his life ate human being, this lady would find a way to not only defend it, but to glorify it.
"You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas...on the taxpayer’s dime." Barack Obama
Something is Fishy
Submitted by timgadsden on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 11:15am.
Do Muslim fathers feed their step-children dog in Indonesia today? That seems a bit far-fetched to me... maybe Obama didn't write that part of Dreams...
Something is fishy about you
Submitted by cocodrie on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 11:21am.
Something is fishy about you
Jesus Loves You so much He died for you
Obama eating dog
Submitted by truckinmann on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 1:03pm.
Obama didn't own a dog until it became essential to his public image as an average American. To him owning a dog would be like a "real" average American owning a Black Angus cow and keeping it indoors. To him a dog is food, like a cow (or steer) is to the average American. This is definitely not the same as putting your dog in a crate and driving with it on the outside of your vehicle, it is far, far more egregious. This woman has obviously never been on the roads during hunting season, when people have their dogs in crates in their trucks in late fall, or winter, headed out to the hunting grounds. She also obviously has never noticed how dogs prefer to stick their heads out of partially opened car windows and look right into the wind, which is much more dangerous for the dog than being crated outside the vehicle. This woman only sees her keyboard and never goes out except to parties with her liberal buds at night time when you don't see these activities I've noted. What a wallflower, preaching her own version of righteous indignation.
The way they harp on this,
Submitted by LinTaylor on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 3:18pm.
The way they harp on this, you'd think Romney had tied a young woman to the train tracks instead of putting a dog in a dog crate that was secured tightly to the car. And that between speeches he's stalking the back alleys of America to find more dogs to kill.
Now me? I own cats. You try to put a cat on the roof of your car, crate or no, you're coming back minus one arm.
Romney took his dog on vacation . . .
Submitted by Free Stinker on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 4:10pm.
. . . and ObamAA+ ate a dog.
You do the math . . .
/// Sarah Palin Fan since July 11, 2007 /// خال
As someone I can't remember
Submitted by ant on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 4:29pm.
As someone I can't remember said, "It doesn't matter if he was 6, put a plate in front of a 6-year old American child and tell him it's dog, see what happens..". It's simply more proof Obama isn't American at his core.
I bet those kids weren't
Submitted by Immortal Fish on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 4:34pm.
I bet those kids weren't wearing seat belts either. What horrible parents the Romneys were!
Granted, seat belt laws wouldn't be passed until years later and their car may not have come with stock seat belts, but they should have had the foresight, dammit!
I bet they even fed those poor children fattening fast food before the trip was over.
The Romneys should have had the decency to abort those children and euthanize that dog before they hit the highway. What awful, awful people.
Of course it's not the
Submitted by Kenny Bunkport on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 6:03pm.
Of course it's not the same...It's never the same.
The...number...one...reason...I...hate...liberals! They can never apply the same criteria to equivalent situations! It's always ok if my liberal guy does it. Always terrible if a conservative does it.
If ever there was a bona fide reason that people shouldn't be allowed to vote, it would be because of this complete lack of objective reasoning. It's sad to think these people are allowed to sit on juries with their lack of analytical skills.
Collins dog
Submitted by greatj on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 11:33pm.
Collins looks like one of those dogs that Obama ate.Stop wasting your time on this piece of trash.
BO and BO
Submitted by Jerry Frey on Wed, 05/09/2012 - 3:56am.
Barack Obama personifies the confusion and contradiction in our country. Americans do not grow up in Indonesia, eating dog meat. Was he born in Hawaii? The birth announcement in both major papers indicates he is an American citizen, native to the country.
Is he a populist, who decries the influence of Wall Street, or is he a politican seeking re-election and asking for donations from the “fat cat” banksters?
Is America still the land of opportunity for the majority or for the connected class?
http://napoleonlive.info/politics/opinion-about-obama/