by Mark Silva
It takes some careful reading between the lines in Washington to get to the bottom of a story, particularly the long-running saga of the search for the first puppy.
The first lady's office tells Tribune's Washington bureau that there will be no announcement of a dog for Obama daughters Malia and Sasha "this week.''
And there really won't be much of an announcement per se, suggests Michelle Obama's press secretary, Katie Lelyveld - we'll all sort of know it when we see it, she says of the press, and certainly the public, hanging on news of the pup's arrival.
Which begs the question: Is Easter Sunday "this week?'' Does your week start on Sunday, or end on Sunday?
Malia and Sasha, shield your eyes, but all signs have pointed to an Easter surprise on the South Lawn of the White House this weekend:
-- The first family, having passed up the Peruvian Hairless in its search for the perfect hypoallergenic pet, is said to be focused on a Portuguese water dog, a rescue pup if possible. (Water "hound," President Obama once called it.)
So said the first lady, in her recent interview with People magazine, in which she also said that timing is everything:
-- The hunt would start in earnest in April, after the girls finished spring break. "You can't get a new dog and then go away for a week,'' said the first lady, who went away last week to Europe with the president. And spring break at the girls' school, Sidwell Friends, for the record, ran from March 20 through March 29.
-- "When we get back, the dog will be in place," the president himself said, in his appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. "This was a campaign promise,'' he said of his pledge to his daughters. And the girls are not the only ones looking forward to the new pup, the president added: "They say if you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.''
-- There's a lot going on at the White House this weekend - the annual Easter egg roll will draw thousands of ticketed guests to the South Lawn. But then, this is a president who likes a full plate.
As for that expected pup, the White House says, we'll know it when we see it. But when? And what?
Comments
Mr. Silva, we're in some sort of "beg the question" plague in your posts. Please look up the meaning of that phrase in a good dictionary. (Hint: It doesn't mean "leads up to the question.")
Posted by: DaveB | April 9, 2009 11:28 AM
I'm a big Obama fan, but even I have to object to continuing this "maybe they will, maybe they won't get a dog soon or not so soon or at all" story. Can there be a moratorium on it, at least until said pooch pal actually materializes? There MUST be something more meaty to report.
Posted by: Op109 | April 9, 2009 12:32 PM
Excellent reporting skills you have there Mark. You sure know how to capture a *story* and relay it to an interested audience.
Posted by: Chris | April 9, 2009 1:32 PM
And unfortunately, after they get a rescue dog (and please -- those are purebred dogs -- that dog will be a rescue dog like I'm a 20-year-old. It won't. Or it will be someone who is giving it to the shelter ONLY if it goes to the WH), everybone else will have to have one. There are no rescue dogs of that breed, leading to dogs mistreated in puppy mills.
I don't think Obama wants a dog at all. But he has to get one.
Posted by: Lizzie | April 9, 2009 4:15 PM
All my dogs have been rescue dogs.
They are very grateful to be living indoors in Chicago.
Anyway, you can't stop with just ONE dog, now, can you?
Posted by: ornery | April 9, 2009 8:29 PM
I have been waiting for their decision for quite some time now. I am happy pleased with their decision, and I feel as though the Obama girls will enjoy their new companion, that will last with them through the White House as well as when they return home to Chicago, after President Obama's term/s.
In a sense, this dog is a rescue dog. The family that first owned it, no longer wanted the dog, and in return gave the dog back to the breeder. From there Sen. Kennedy got the dog, and as a gift to the Obama girls gave them what they have been waiting for, for almost a year now.
This video was interesting in that it gave a new incite, that other articles/websites have not. http://www.newsy.com/videos/first_look_at_the_first_pup/ It states that the Obama's feel bad that they did not get a rescue dog from a shelter, so in return they will be making a donation to the Humane Society.
I hope the girls enjoy their new puppy, and it makes them feel as though they always have a listening ear (even if it is covered in fur).
Posted by: Lauren | April 13, 2009 4:43 PM