Joey's Take: Tail Wagging

One of the campaign tasks I find most challenging is figuring out which of the zillions of issues out there to bark about. I blame this on technology. The 24-7 news frenzy has to have something to barf up; that means a lot of comments and events get exaggerated, twisted and sensationalized. Talk about the tail wagging the dog!

It’s not all the media’s fault. The anonymity and ubiquity of the internet also are to blame. (Yes, I know some of these are big words for a dog, but because of my species, I have to work twice as hard to get people to take my campaign seriously.)

Have you read the hatred spewing out on some of these online comment boards? I can tell you, the worst of it is not from conservatives. The most offensive name-calling, vitriolic rhetoric is coming from so-called “tolerant” liberals. When I read this stuff, I wonder if we can ever be one nation under God.

Of course, it’s one thing for people to verbally bite each other on an anonymous forum in the name of public discourse. But, as a candidate for Congress, I draw the line at our representatives and senators standing up on the floor of their chamber and reading lies and gutter talk into the Congressional Record. Are the words of Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) really the legacy we want to leave as the archives of our time?

Arf! Here’s where the media come back in. Grayson has learned that as a freshman rep without rock-star status, he gets no attention when he’s just doing his job. Nope, the only time he gets his 15 minutes of fame is to engage in Hugo Chavez-inspired speeches. If the media would stop rewarding him with mic time, he’d focus on his job instead of his sound bites (pun intended).

I can assure you that if I’m elected to Congress, I won’t have to pull a Grayson to get my 15 minutes.

I’m Joey. I’m a rock-star dog. And I approved this blog – even though it doesn't carry the White House seal of approval.

Playing Politics

Remember that incident Democrats, including Sen. Obama, tried to blow up into “Attorney-gate” under President Bush? They didn’t like the fact that he replaced nine U.S. attorneys midstream, claiming it smacked of politics. Never mind that these attorneys served at the pleasure of the president and at least one of them had spent a number of years threatening to quit.

Now just five months into his term, President Obama seems to be playing politics with a government watchdog who blew the whistle on two of the president’s supporters who misspent AmeriCorp funds. For his trouble, Gerald Walpin, inspector general of the Corporation for National and Community Service and a Bush hold-over, was abruptly fired last week by Obama.

When the president’s action was questioned by senators, including a few in his own party, the character assassination began. Walpin’s, that is. The White House released a letter from a senior counsel to the president that justified the firing based, in part, on what it called Walpin’s “confused, disoriented” behavior at a board meeting a few weeks ago when he allegedly was unable to respond to questions, according to the New York Times.

(If that’s grounds for dismissal, the president has a lot of people to fire. Have you seen the video of the congressional hearing in which Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., questions Elizabeth Coleman, the Federal Reserve inspector general? She comes across as somewhat confused and unable to respond to the questions she’s asked.)

A president has the right to appoint whom he wants to various positions -- and get rid of whom he wants. But unlike Obama, Bush didn't stoop to character assassination, even though it meant he put his own reputation out there to be hung.