Its a Dog Eat Dog Election

OK, we know you are sick of hearing about Irish Setter Seamus strapped to the top of the Romney's station wagon during a family trip to Canada, but it turns out that dogs have been important political assets (or not) during other elections, specifically Roosevelt v. Dewey in 1944.

Here is an excerpt from Roosevelt's speech in which he talked about the rumor started by Republicans that he had mistakenly left his beloved Fala (Scotch terrier) on one of the Aleutian islands during a presidential visit and then sent a navy destroyer to fetch him:

These Republican leaders have not been content with attacks on me, or my wife, or on my sons. No, not content with that, they now include my little dog, Fala. Well, of course, I don't resent attacks, and my family don't resent attacks -- but Fala does resent them. You know, Fala is Scotch, and being a Scottie, as soon as he learned that the Republican fiction writers in Congress and out had concocted a story that I'd left him behind on an Aleutian island and had sent a destroyer back to find him -- at a cost to the taxpayers of two or three, or eight or 20 million dollars -- his Scotch soul was furious. (laughter) He has not been the same dog since. (laughter) I am accustomed to hearing malicious falsehoods about myself -- such as that old, worm-eaten chestnut that I have represented myself as indispensable. But I think I have a right to resent, to object, to libelous statements about my dog!


Too bad Seamus can't speak for himself to explain Mitt's actions. Bottom line here is that Americans love their dogs and apparently this is nothing new.