The Huffington Post - Details

Most dogs go to the vet, but it's only the presidential pooch who goes through vetting. That's the humorous message of the illustration by Barry Blitt on the cover ofThe New Yorkerwhich arrived in my mailbox yesterday. Seeing the cover of one of the nation's most widely read magazines, I knew there was no doubt thatObama's pick for First Doghas captivated the attention of the animal-loving public.

Next week, millions of Americans who open their funny pages will see another artistic take on the subject--this time with the important message of shelter adoption. Patrick McDonnell, creator of the comic stripMUTTS, will run a series of strips Monday through Saturday (Dec. 8-13) honoring the Obama family's decision to adopt a rescued dog. As Earl the dog tells Mooch the cat, "it could inspire everyone to get a dog or cat from their local shelter!" Here's a sneak preview of next week's strip, courtesy of Patrick.

MUTTSis syndicated in more than 700 newspapers in 20 countries, and the stories often include important animal protection issues. Just before the election,MUTTSfeatured a series of strips reaching millions of California voters on the importance of Proposition 2 and the humane treatment of farm animals, andyou can read my interview with Patrick here. Animal shelters, too, are not a new subject for Patrick, who has been spreading the word about pet adoption for years, including in his bookShelter Stories: Love. Guaranteed.

So pick up your daily newspaper next week and joinMUTTSin celebrating the Obama family's puppy pick. With the president-elect's example, we can all be inspired to bring hope and change to the homeless dogs and cats at animal shelters, just waiting for a second chance and a loving home. As Mooch says, "Yesh, we can!"

On election night, in front of the world, newly-elected President of the United States Barack Obama promised his daughters Malia and Sasha a puppy.

It took about 5 seconds for the debate to rage about what type would be best suited to be the First Doggie.

Obama wanted a hypo-allergenic dog, but several canine experts were quick to point out they don't exist. Then the American Kennel Club and the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals decided to throw down about whether the big O's should get a purebred pup or, as Obama himself said, a "mutt like me."

But here we are nearly a month after the historic election, and despite fact that the publicists of every four-legged thing that barks have been working their angle for why their full-blood or mongrel is the most presidential -- nothing yet.

My automatic response to the canine conundrum is the obvious: Obama needs a Chihuahua.

Let's face it, Obama getting a Chihuahua is the only way we'll ever get a Mexican in the White House! Don't believe me? I give you exhibit A: Bill Richardson.

Never mind that Big Bill was kicked out of the Democratic presidential primary dogpile because he couldn't compete with the woman, the black man, the guy who's wife got cancer and because he refused to run as "the Hispanic." And really, no one west of New Mexico even knew or cared that Bill Richardson was Latino.

Then he gets punked on Secretary of State (which he would have rocked at, by the way) for Hillary Clinton -- his main woman who he threw under the bus to support Obama! Richardson was named Commerce Secretary Wednesday morning, not too shabby but not exactly high-profile either.

Exhibit B: the "Latino vote." Hispanics voted 2-to-1 for Obama versus McCain on Election Day (duh, I can't believe this was ever in question), offering up two-thirds of their vote for the Black candidate. If you'll recall, some shadowy band of idiots decided to float the notion that Hispanics were too racist to vote for a Black man and the news media were on it like white on rice, but I've digressed...

My point is that some of those Latino voters feel they are "owed" for their troubles and, on the issue of immigration law reform, many have already threatened tostorm the capital with marchers the day after Obama's inauguration to demand it.

If Obama gets a Chihuahua -- not the prissy kind like the Beverly Hills Chihuahua -- a strong, brave one (like the Beverly Hills Chihuahua's gardener's dog!), it'll soften things.

Can't you just imagine the press release? "President-Elect Barack Obama runs for the border with pup pick: Chihuahua brings dog-acity of hope to relations with Latin America."

Now, the fact is that Obama told Barbara Walters he didn't want a "little, yappy, dog ... that, like, sits on your lap and things." Well, that's a toughie but if he can't handle all the trash talk coming out of a Chihuahua's mouth, how's he going to broker peace in the Middle East? Besides, there are many other reasons to get a Chihuahua into the White House.

· He's already getting heat over there being too much "Chicago" in the White House; Chihuahuas are definitely more L.A. and New York.

· They're so small he can get two -- one for each daughter.

· If he gets two girl Chihuahuas he can buy Sarah Palin's wardrobe and get the White House dry-cleaner to shrink them down to tiny-doggy size -- for state dinners and such.

· If he get's an (un-related) boy/girl pair, he can be the first black president and the first president to require a Presidential Whelping Box.

But the best reason for Obama to get a Chihuahua is ... they perfectly represent Obama: they were mutts of Toltec and Chinese descent, they're frequently cast as the strong and ultimately victorious underdog, and ... they're known for getting what they want. Like Obama, they're definitely a mutt above the rest.

A Chihuahua in the White House? -- that's my dog-acity of hope.

Yes, those are Esther J. Cepeda's Chihuahuas ... some stereotypes are true.

Tina Brown's online magazine The Daily Beast has scored some coups. The latest comes courtesy of Talking Points Memo alumBenjamin Sarlin.In a recent interview with GOP uber-goon Roger Stone, Sarlin extracted the only known mea culpa on record from a Republican heavy hitter that actually acknowledges--gasp--people died unnecessarily as the result of George W. Bush's presidency.

Says Stone, who was a behind the scenes player in the notoriousBrooks Brothers' riotof November 2000 that shut down theMiami-Dade recount:

When I look at those double-page New York Times spreads of all the individual pictures of people who have been killed [in Iraq], I got to think, "Maybe there wouldn't have been a war if I hadn't gone to Miami-Dade. Maybe there hadn't have been, in my view, an unjustified war if Bush hadn't become president." It's very disturbing to me.

David Rose's 2006 Vanity Fair profile of Richard Perle, Ken "Cakewalk" Adelman, and David Frum, wittily titledNeo Culpanoted more generalized fingerpointing and regrets on the order of "mistakes were made."

Michael Ledeen of the American Enterprise Institute blames the skirts.

Ask yourself who the most powerful people in the White House are. They are women who are in love with the president: Laura [Bush], Condi, Harriet Miers, and Karen Hughes.

Stone, then, deserves credit for having, well, the stones to concede that elections have consequences. And one of the consequences of George W. Bush's election was that the United States was plunged into an "unjustified war."

That war brought with it human misery on a staggering scale. It has undermined American moral authority. And it has dealt a savage blow to our strategic interests.

Until Republicans come to terms with the consequences of their actions, they will languish in the political wilderness.

More of Roger Stone can be seen in this recent interview withJosh Marshall of Talking Points Memo.Note the killer Nixon poster.

Here's hoping Sarlin can track down some of the other Brooks Brothers rioters for comment. Might be some juicy stuff.