Say this for Newt Gingrich, he does know how to have some sport at Mitt Romney’s expense. How else to explain this?
Forget the back and forth attacks with Mitt Romney. Newt Gingrich’s campaign has decided to take another route on his bid to the Republican nomination: pets and music.
The campaign said today that it will soon launch a “Pets With Newt” site aimed at Gingrich’s love for animals, intended to show a “lighter side” of the candidate. “As speaker I made it possible for people in public housing to keep their pets in 1988. I love pets so we’re going to have an entire project,” Gingrich said.
Gee, what do you think this might be about? Could there be another candidate in the race who has a troubled history of pet ownership? Why, golly gosh, yes there is! Readers will recall how, last time around the Presidential block, Mitt had a canine accident:
The Boston Globe reported that on a family trip from Boston to Ontario, Romney and his brood of five mini-Mitts were short on space in their stationwagon. You could call their solution creative. Putting the family Irish Setter, Seamus, into a dog crate Romney then strapped said crate on top of the car roof. I’ll repeat that: Romney thought is sensible to strap his dog to his car roof. For a 12 hour drive.
Remarkable as this is, it’s not the full story. At one point during the trip an evidently distresses Seamus suffered an attack of diarrhoea. When this was brought to Romney’s attention he stopped at a gas station and, using a hose, washed down his car and dog before putting Seamus back into his box and returning him to the roof.
Astonishingly this was hailed, according to the Globe, as an example of Romney’s emotion-free crisis management.
That’s one way of putting it.
Fair play to animal-loving Newt, then, for his dog-whistling allusion to the sorry tale of Seamus the Irish Setter. Justice for Seamus!
[Thanks to GM who also reminds one that British readers will recall how Auberon Waugh stood for the Dog Lovers’ Party against Jeremy Thorpe back in 1979. Sadly Bron didn’t win, but Romney’s dog-management skills is one of those trivial but non-trivial character indicators that reveal rather a lot.]
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