Our Best Friends

Monty 'Sunshinedog'

Green Island Jersey CI

.Man’s best friend could be just the rescue package Brown needs
By David Williamson of the Western Mail
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IF YOU visit a pet shop within walking distance of Westminster, do not be surprised if a hefty man with a deep Scottish brogue is examining the merits of a selection of puppies.

A politician’s career would be fried if he attempted to deflect a tough question in a press conference by playing a banjo. But play with a dog and photographers will drown out bleating inquiries about bail-outs for billionaires with the snap of flashbulbs.

Times are tough for Gordon Brown and a canine could be a source of solace and spin.

In the run-up to the 2001 election, Tony Blair attempted to rekindle the youthful euphoria of 1997 by arriving at Downing Street with a guitar case. What are the chances we will soon see Brown clamber out of his car with a five-week-old wolfhound?
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Global fascination with the arrival of the latest White House dog demonstrates the genius of President Obama’s news-spinning and contrasts with the clunking despair at the heart of the Labour machine.

On the night of his election, Obama promised his daughters a puppy. This was one campaign pledge that was quite easy for the press and public to track.

He soon added a new twist by announcing the hound would have to be hypoallergenic to protect the health of his eldest daughter. This portrayed Obama as America’s super-dad. Yes, he was cautious and hyper-intelligent, but he was not a closeted boffin; just as his daughters would have to wait for a safe puppy, so the populace could not expect an instant solution to financial malaise.

Economists will argue for years about the merits of his stimulus package and political opponents will disparage early claims that the nation is on the road to recovery.

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But each time Americans see Obama’s daughters frolicking with Bo, the Portuguese water dog (the decision not to imitate JFK and buy a Welsh terrier should not be taken as a snub), they will remember that their president is a man who keeps his promises and their hearts will throb with hope.

Choosing to announce the selection of this pooch as he approaches his 100th day in office is a honeymoon-prolonging masterstroke.
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Brown’s spin-hacks should have been e-mailing each other ideas for interesting pets (or, if they wanted to be radical, great policy concepts) {Right, Sunshine Bella, in deep thought} rather than concocting lurid nonsense about rivals’ family lives.
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Mr Brown should be advised not to imitate ostrich-loving music legend Johnny Cash who was nearly killed by his giant bird.
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All Prime Ministers long for a place in the history books, but being the first forced out of office by an ostrich is an accolade nobody wants.

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