Romney's Shaggy Dog Story

You know, the first thing that popped into my mind while reading that was National Lampoon's Vacation.

I expect Romney was out looking for a pony to add to his show.

This can't be real. This has to be a joke, right? Who, in their right mind, straps their dog to the roof of the car? I don't care if he's got a windshield on this dog carrier, that's still seriously frakked up.

We must all do our part and call PETA and demand he be boycotted out of the race!

Management? Isn't that in fact emotion-free crisis creation?

Said Mitt: "No one could have predicted the car would come out looking like that when we strapped the dog to the top of it hours beforehand."

Well, it was either the dog or Tagg.

To prevent the dog from repeating his performance, Mitt climbed onto the roof and screwed the pooch before departing again.

No to Romney!
No to Mormon Dog Strappers!
Yes to Obama!
He loves his dog.

Putting any sentient being on the luggage rack of a car - much less THE FAMILY PET - shows judgment slightly short of a typical three-year-old.

Dios help us all.

Ana,

This post is genius.

I'm no fan of Romney, but "in all seriousness" you this whole anecdote is pretty pointless either way.

He learned that behavior when he was 19, walking the streets of the big city, pestering people to convert.

Riding for hours? Ever consider stopping the car to let the dog go to the bathroom? What a moran.

Seriously, how stupid are these writers at the Globe? No wonder why newspapers are dying. The "crisis" was entirely of his own making. It would have been prevented entirely if he wasn't so idiotic, cruel and thoughtless to put the dog on the roof in the first place. It would have been solved if, after the dog sh*t itself, he put the dog in the back of the wagon. Instead, he keeps pursuing the same knuckleheaded policy that got him into trouble in the first place. And we're encouraged to gape in awe at his legendary management skillz! This is the same goofy, clue-free thinking that informs that view that Dick Cheney is some kind of administrative genius. Look! Everything he does turns out wrong: 3,600 American soldiers dead! No more salmon in the Klammath! Chief of staff going to jail! But he's really, really good and managing the levers of power. Is it just me, or does it seem like a prerequisite for getting hired at a major news outlet is that you have zero common sense?

"Who else thought this little story would end with the dog not crapping itself but, you know, dead? Also, if this really is some kind of trademark approach, I can't wait to hear what he thinks the "roadmap to peace" means. Israel calls shotgun!"
******
Crappy owner deserves crap on his car.

Ana, I have always contended anyone who mistreats an animal, a child, or an elderly person deserves a special place in Hades. To Mitt, the dog was just part of the family paraphenalia, akin to the luggage.

Mitt might think this little anecdote will endear him to some future voters, but I wouldn't even want to be neighbors with someone this addle brained.

But...but...you can land a 737 on his shoulders!

But - but - but all the Big Pundits think he's so DREAMY! Almost as much as that studly Washington lobbyist Fred Thompson.

This was a great post, until the part about something "only a Mormon could come up with." What does his religion have to do with this? Sounds like bigotry to me.

Man, and Michael Vick thought he had that 2007 Cruelty to Animals award locked up.

Was this before or after he shot that varmint?

You're all missing the point. The point is that even when he was hosing down the dog, Romney smelled great. And that's why he's getting my vote.

This was a summer trip Romney was making from Boston to Ontario. It's pretty freakin' hot with the sun beating down on top of a car in the summer time, and dogs don't sweat the way people do. At best they can pant. How was the dog supposed to drink water up there?

Yeah, I'm also amazed the story didn't end with the death of the dog. Did he make any trips where he strapped his wife or one of his children up there?

I suppose this explains Mitt's opposition to closing Gitmo, as well as his curious observation that the facility "has too few hoses."

Solved like most problems solved by Harvard MBA consultants, with crap all over everyone involved but taking credit for getting a hose.

Mitt Romney = Clark Griswold

Genius.

That certainly explains the manly musk that Chris Matthews was smelling.

Mitt Romney will be a great President. He can think dispassionately, with a clear head and objectively. This is what the American people yearn for in their leaders. The hate-Bush crowd and the far left media will never get it. Bill O'Reilly is watching you and will update his ever growing viewership on any bad moves you and your ilk make.

"You're all missing the point. The point is that even when he was hosing down the dog, Romney smelled great."

Smelled great, dreamy shoulders, and chiseled chin...What else is there to want?

Seriously--how could you strap your dog to the roof of your car? Honestly? This is just plain weird, and not "effective crisis management".

Fred Thompson would never do that. He'd place the dog in an empty Aqua Velva container.

And then the Mittster hopped back into the wagon and told Tagg and the other boys that he will always support wars that they don't have to fight in.

Ok, so I am not a dog poo expert. But I did stay in a Motel 6 last night and I am akin to pickin' up my fair share of "dingo droppings" on weekends. To that end, why did this dog have such a case of the Hershey Squirts that the fecal matter was "dripping down the back window"? Scared sh!tless? Or never potty trained? Scours? Diarrhea?

Kinda looks like the dog shouldn't have been on the trip in the first place.

"Then Romney put his boys on notice: He would be making predetermined stops for gas, and that was it."
******
Wow! What a joyful trip!

I hope he had plenty of jugs for the boys, but what about Mrs. Mitt? This family must have world-class bladders.

Ms. Cox:

Thanks for confirming our sanity. This guy is a sicko, a clinical sociopath.

Barry, you ignorant slut.

The point of the remark was that hosing off a car covered with dog crap is the solution ANYONE would come up with.

Animal Precinct cameras should be tailing the Romneys.

How many Romneys does it take to change a headlight?

Two emotion-free people plus a dog. Tagg straps Seamus to the front bumper with a lightbulb glued to his snout. And Mitt hoses the lightbulb and Seamus down four hours later when the brown liquid dims the light.

space, you have the light bulb plugged into the wrong end if the brown liquid dims the light on the front of his snout.

"Seriously--how could you strap your dog to the roof of your car? Honestly? This is just plain weird, and not "effective crisis management"."

It's called Republican crisis management.
First, you create a crisis ("who could have foreseen that a dog kept in a carrier on the roof of a car for hours on end would take a dump?").
Then you "manage" it by doin' a heckuva job hosin' off that roof.

I have to agree with Ana here....

Not only is Romney's behavior disgusting and pathetic toward the dog, but the Globe reporters are complete idiots....

(and Romney's disregard for the dog is almost eclipsed by his disregard for his five sons -- the eldest of whom was 13 at the time -- all of whom were expected to have perfect bladder control during the 12 hour drive. (His wife, however, could get him to pull over for a bathroom break at any time.)

ROmney is clearly a sociopath...

Well, when I asked him where he wanted to be placed, he said "Roof" !

Santorum warned us about this kind of behaviour...

:D

The act would satisfy the definition of animal cruelty as it is used today.

"and Romney's disregard for the dog is almost eclipsed by his disregard for his five sons -- the eldest of whom was 13 at the time -- all of whom were expected to have perfect bladder control during the 12 hour drive. (His wife, however, could get him to pull over for a bathroom break at any time.)"

I don't let my boys drink coffee. It's not so bad

I am surprised he didn't put the dog on one of his shoulders. There is enough space there to land a passenger aircraft from what I have heard.

And after all that, Mitt still smelled very Manly and Presidental. The ladies just swooned.

But the takeaway of the anecdote is this:

...Romney coolly pulled off the highway and into a service station.

Coolly? Unlike, say, that girly-man Edwards, who totally would've freaked out and driven into a ditch, or something.

Where's Imogene Coca when you need her?

Oh that's right, she's passed on.

Maybe Mitt tied her to the bumper.

Ana, Should we not consider the fact that Mitt created the 'crisis' in using poor judgment in the placement of the dog? Should he be given credit for fixing a mess that was avoidable?
And, just what was he supposed to do? What are the options in dealing with dog crap running down the back of your car OTHER than washing it off?
The guy is a phony and this attempt at painting him a solid problem solver is a dud.

Has anybody asked James Dobson if he feels better about Romney after hearing this story?

OT: OVP and White House subpoenaed by Leahy

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/06/27/ap3862945.html

Mitt's son is named Tagg?
I thought that was the name of the dog.
Wasn't "Tagg" how Buster Brown pronounced his dog's name?

Mitt Romney is the Greg Stillson of 2008.

He washed poop off his car with a hose. I doubt any of us would have thought to do that. Also, what about the cars behind him that got pooped on? Did he clean those, too? Or was he too 'cool' for that?

I would respectfully ask that the serious political pundits who have been slurping and drooling over Mitt Romney for the last year or so please track down and present to us the stories of the millions, thousands, hundreds, tens, or maybe one or two other people in the United States of America who have ever treated a dog in this manner.

Folks, this anecdote puts images in the mind that are absolutely indelible and it illuminates behavior (mistreatment of animals) that is viewed as a predictor of further psychopathic behavior. Makes that $400 haircut seem like an imprudent, exorbitant... haircut.

Well, if someone can just build a hose large enough, Romney will solve the problems of the world with his "emotion-free crisis management" capabilities.

Dontcha just feel warm all over knowing there is such a manly man capable of hosing away all ya problems?

"Bill O'Reilly is watching you and will update his ever growing viewership on any bad moves you and your ilk make."

Me and my ilk are fine dancers and NEVER make bad moves.

I heard Mitt's backup plan was to double the size of the car roof.

It was a tiny preview of a trait he and his party would grow famous for: coming up with an answer to a problem that is both ineffective and cruel, then having to clean up the mess his "solution" created, yet STILL not actually fixing the problem.

I'm gonna strap my ilk to the top of the car.

In this story is the whole point about the Right in this country: instead of accepting responsibility for the safety and well-being of his family's pet - HIS PET - Mitt decided that the animal was nothing more than yet another commodity to be "managed" rather than dealt with, you know, HUMANELY. You wanna know how that tack turns out in the reality-based world? Ask anyone from Iraq, Afghanistan, or our very own New Orleans. Ask them about dehumanization and being reduced to a managable "quantity" or "factor."

The moral of this story, in a nutshell, typifies the evil of the Right, and the evil of the unfettered business mind. I couldn't have come up with a better story myself.

Speaking of Romney's dogs, you owe it to yourself to check out this post by Brownback supporters about his other god Marley:

http://blogs4brownback.wordpress.com/2007/06/04/the-trouble-with-mitt/

Meant to say other DOG Marley

Adding, if I may, Mitt's a Morman. He probably has more than one dog anyway...

Adding, if I may, Mitt's a Morman. He probably has more than one dog anyway...

really, someone should psychoanalyze and evaluate mr. "double guantanamo". he seems like an outright sociopath to me. no core at all.

Don't Mormons eat dogs?

Quite an inaugural ride he has planned in DC...

Yeah, that's straight-up animal cruelty. No ifs, ands, or buts. What's worse, it seems like the *whole family* thought it was fine. How callous can you be?

I strongly believe there's a correlation between the way a person treats other beings and human beings. Jeffery Dommer comes to mind.

Pitiful little animal- and the dog too!

Contra ana and paul, it's hard for me to imagine that the layers of irony in the last line of the quoted passage were lost on the story's reporter/editors.

Not only is Romney revealed as the creep he is, the feeble lionization of MBA types is parodied as well ("Git 'er done, Mitt!"). Lewis Lapham had the best precis of this silly notion a few years back, snorting at the sort of people who think this country would be better off "if only Pat Riley were president".

Like the story about GW Bush mocking a condemned woman's plea for clemency, this anecdote reveals--like a hologram, everything you need to know about Romney's character. This guy is a scarier sociopath than Bush, and he is JUST as culturally illiterate.

"Meant to say other DOG Marley"

Other god Marley sounded a LOT more interesting....

What Romney did wasn't leadership. Leadership would have been delegating the responsibility to Tagg, as an entity neither inside nor outside the car, to kill the dog.

Well, this should get Grover Norquist's endorsement: he now has a new metaphor to replace "drown the government in the bathtub."

rinsing off pee on the windshield -- about as remarkable as being president of a college fraternity

glad to see these acts of leadership gain the focus of the media over, say, 6 years in the united states senate

We're to be impressed that he kept a cool head in this crisis?

As opposed to what? Freaking out, shrieking, waving his arms around spastically, careening off the median and causing a huge pileup? Is there ANY driver in the country that would do something besides wrinkle their nose, then pull over and hose off the car?

I don't get it.

I love the "first inkling of trouble" setup. I was thinking, first the diarrhea, next Tagg sees the dog carrier fall to the the Interstate pavement behind the speeding wagon, shatter, and the writhing Seamus tossed beneath the wheels of a following moving van.

Seriously...the punch line could have been: It was a Christmas vacation and the Romney clan was touring the Canadian Rockies! Thank God the kids were all born before strap-down child seats became available!

I'll bet good old Seamus ripped Mitt's hand off the next time Romney tried to take the dog to the vet for a rabies shot. Just the sight of the carrier and Seamus goes Cujo all over the clan.

I do not have a great amount of respact for either Mitt, or for Ana, but the latter gained some points with this post. You go girl!

"I'm Buster Brown and I live in a shoe, this is my dog Tagg and he's lives there, too" Roof, Roof

Now, I see Willard riding shotgun in Fred's rented pickem up truck with hoses and water boards loaded, a nuke on the gun rack. Every time The Big Dred, Pardon Me, Fred takes a crap, Willard gabs a hose to wash it off.

"Mitt Romney will be a great President. He can think dispassionately, with a clear head and objectively. This is what the American people yearn for in their leaders. The hate-Bush crowd and the far left media will never get it. Bill O'Reilly is watching you and will update his ever growing viewership on any bad moves you and your ilk make."

Mitt Romney will be a great President based on what? I live in Massachussets and aside from mandating everyone have health insurance, he did nothing to make himself a great governer. So, how does this translate well to the national stage? I guess the fact that many Republicans think he seems vapid, I mean sunny, like Reagan makes him magically presidential (because we all know that Reagan's face should be on the five dollar bill and etched into Rushmore).

This so-called clear and objective thinking you point to is actually cyncial calculating. When he wanted to beat Teddy Kennedy here, he was pro-gay rights and pro-abortion. Now he wants to be president, so he's magically anti-gay marriage and anti-abortion. I'm sorry, but this country has been run for too long by men who will say and do anything to get what they want. What these times call for are men who will make the right choices, not the politically expedient ones.

As far as the so-called "hate-Bush crowd," what does this have to do with Romney's Presidential bona fidas? Nothing, considering that Romney, like the other Republican candidates, aren't embracing the Bush legacy to get elected. If memory serves, they reached past the Bush Dynasty to the days of Reagan to express how they think the country should be run. Of course, they did this with good reason - Newsweek reports that Mr. Bush's approval is at a Nixonian 26%. Additionally, stalwart Richard Lugar has recently jumped ship. The fact is, G.W. Bush is a mediocre man when the country needed an extraordinary one and the majority of the country now has deep buyer's remorse. But, as I said before, none of this has any bearing on Romney.

I doubt Mitt will get nominated (considering evangelicals don't think too much of Mormonism), but if he does make it out of the Republican nomination sh!tshow, I don't see it painting him as a great leader. Instead, it'll show he was able to appeal to the base fears and desires of a party that has focused its energy on being xenophobic, racist, militaristic, messianic and pathological. Hardly a man I think should have his finger on the nuclear switch.

Pardon me, but my home state is spelled Massachusetts. Sorry bout that...my kindergarten teacher is ashamed.

I agree with Barry that the only smudge in an otherwise precious posting is the "only a Mormon" remark.

considering Conservatives have had our soldiers strapped to the front of their car for the past ten years (and even before, if you count Reagan cutting and running after our troops were killed in Beirut), it's hardly surprising being regaled with these heartwarming tales of Conservative disregard for all things not related to personal profit.

Between Romney and Rick Santorum its clear that there's no upside to being a dog in a Republican family.

Well, whatever else happens, if Mitt isn't nicknamed "Doggie Strap-On" in every subsequent news story, I for one will be damn disappointed.

George Bush has kept a cool head in a crisis, too. Unfortunately, like this one, it was a crisis created entirely by his own idiocy. So I guess the take-home is that we can count on Mitt to carry on W's tradition of getting us into one mess after another, but to coolly "stay the course"...right over the cliff.

From the 6/6/2007 Situation Room:

"Some people think you can learn a lot about a person by the pet they own. So, the Associated Press is breaking down the presidential field between dog and cat lovers. Six contenders cast their votes for canines. Hillary Clinton and John Edwards are proud dog owners.

Dennis Kucinich and Mike Huckabee and Duncan Hunter each have more than one pooch in the family. Mitt Romney's dog Marley recently passed on. "

Have Mitt and family been on any recent roadtrips?

A fine example of the flypaper theory to the WOS (War on Sh*t). He's hosing the car off there (roof) so he doesn't have to hose it off here (inside the car).

Romney should be blasted for animal cruelty for strapping the dog to the roof of the car (even in a carrier).

And should blasted for child abuse for naming his kid "Tagg."

Who the hell picks names for that family, a retarded chimp?

And why do I think that if this happened to Obama, Edwards or Clinton that it would be front page "Horror!" news? Drudge would be all over it! I recall when Clinton's dog Buddy died, the Freepers et al. were all over his supposed lack of 'true' feelings of grief because the press release was too scripted or something like that.

Oh, so Mormon dogs get the special underwear?

And now that I recall more, they were excoriating Clinton (and not just the Freepers, it went mainstream) because Buddy was hit by a car (slipped out a door and into the road), thereby 'proving' that Clinton was a horrible pet owner and therefore a horrible human being, and therefore liberalism was evil.

If this anecdote is true, Mitt is insane.

Any yes, the Boston Globe is perhaps the worst newspaper on the planet.

If this anecdote is true, Mitt is insane.

Any yes, the Boston Globe is perhaps the worst newspaper on the planet.

Take a look, also, at the children in this heartwarming little anecdote. In other families, the kids would be crying and pleading with Dad to "puhleeeze don't put him up there on the roof" but Mitt's boys just thought the dog losing his bowels was 'gross'. And apparently Mom just sat there smiling on her cute brood while they abused the family pet.

These people are deranged. Every last one of them.

I can see 'McGruff the Grime Dog' joining 'Flipper the Flipflopping Dolphin' at all Romney events from now on. A regular menagerie.

I think it's going to be a banner year for animal costumes.

What an idiot. Romney is apparently one of those people that doesn't respect animals emough to take care of a pet properly. I hope he gets knocked out of the race early - it would be scary to have someone like that running the country.

Chris Matthews and Wolf Blitzer are already feverishly working this into the next 'raise your hand' question for the next debate.

Campaigns nowdays are very tightly managed. What staffer for team Romney decided to use this particular story as a metaphor for crisis management. Pure genius. He/she must be so proud.

Forget my vote, Romney. You are one coldhearted, thoroughly stupid jerk. We already have one of those in the White House; we don't need an encore.

And by the way, anyone who would strap a dog to the roof of a car should not be a petowner. Period.

IIRC, Buster Brown's dog was Tige, and he at least lived in a shoe. Better than huddling terrified in 90+ degree heat atop the family station wagon.

so the cold, wet, unhappy dog went *back into* the rooftop carrier?!?!?

Oh look it is the circus side show for all the people who care more about pets rights then the human race.

Strapping a dog to the top of a car, not the greatest display of perfect judgement. However he took the time to actually do something to protect the animal from the wind. At no point in this story did it say that the dog was soaked and that he didn't dry it off prior to putting it back in the carrier (but of course everyone here is more then willing to assume that this was the case because they are so sure they know how a man who straps his dogs carrier on the roof thinks).

He could of course put the dog in a kennel which could be construed as cruel to the animal because the dog is part of the family.

Dogs as part of the animal kingdom are equipped to deal with certain conditions that humans aren't. Once he starts beating his dog and locking it up without food you poor poor animal activists can start crying because then we will have a real story worth talking about.

As for Mitt Romneys qualifications, he has one that this country really needs. The proven ability to clean up a financial mess. This quality was proven in his handling of the mess that the committee for the Olympic games in Utah made. Yes the whole healthcare thing in Massachusetes hasn't gone like it should but was responsible for signing off on it if it met a certain standard and guess what. Massachusettes is a Democratic state, so the Democrates were responsbile for actually creating that piece of crap

Yes, "...the Democrates were responsbile for actually creating that piece of crap." but we can spell!

"Dogs as part of the animal kingdom are equipped to deal with certain conditions that humans aren't."

I believe that's the standard Republican line about army enlistees as well...

Bill Frist tracked down and dismembered cats. Dick Cheney shot dozens of birds which were fixed to be unable to fly away. Until I hear a story in which Mitt actually kills numerous sentient beings, I'm not gonna believe he's a real Republican.

Mitt's desperate to get the animal cruelty vote that Bill Frist was counting on.

What a scumbag.

"Oh look it is the circus side show for all the people who care more about pets rights then the human race."

I love that logic. Show an ounce of care for an animal and automatically you care more about animals than people.

No to Mormons and any other religio-facsists.
I never met a Mormon family that wasn't white trash.

Can you imagine what wind around a carrier (with windshield) sounds like to a dog? Ouch.

http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2003/TimCondon.shtml

Exactly why isn't "Tagg" or any of his brothers fighting in Iraq?

From their myspace page, they appear capable. My guess is that they've got "other priorities".

After he was asked to help Ronnie with his Depends, he was never invited to the Reagan home again.

If anything, I'd say it was the DOG that showed "emotion free crisis management" skills. Not to mention a knack for giving pay back.

Hey, if you thought the dog incident was gross, just wait until you hear what Dad did with the Aunt Edna's corpse.

Impeach Romney Now!

"Impeach Romney Now!"

Uh. Dude.. That WASN'T a cigar.

Nice try Jayson. Republicans will go to any lengths to excuse bad behavior of other republicans. Mormons will go to any lengths to make excuses for Mormons. Yes, its that obvious that you're Mormon.

Let me get this straight: It's ok to put the dog on the roof of a car going 75 miles per hour for who knows how many hours (determined by Mrs. Romney's bladder), in very hot weather as long as its not starved or beaten to death?

This is the same republican logic that brought us the rational that waterboarding is not torture as long as the waterboarding doesn't actually drown the prisoner, shoving a stick up a prisoner's a** is ok as long as its not someone's penis, hooding an enemy combatant and hooking him up to electrodes is ok as long as no one takes a picture of it. Do you see why no one trusts republicans anymore?

Do you really think that riding to the rescue of the Salt Lake City Olympic Games, which were put into financial difficulty by corrupt Mormons, can really give Mitt any credibility to solve the nation's financial woes, which were created by corrupt republicans???? There is no comparison of scale or skill in reality, only in your (and every other Mormon on the planet) head.

Mitt fought with everything he had to force the citizens of Massachusettes to buy health insurance, which is really just a huge gift to the insurance industry, the very industry that is breaking the back of the American middle class. True to form, when it doesn't work out, and Mitt gets called to account for it, people like you will come to his rescue and insist that it wasn't his fault, because after all, he can do no wrong, ever.

PLEASE, quit the rationalizing. It makes you seem weak and pathetic. I know, I know. You will keep the blinders on because Mormons and republicans can do no wrong. God said so.

"Dogs as part of the animal kingdom are equipped to deal with certain conditions that humans aren't."

Yes, they evolved to be strapped on top of cars!

--I mean, they were CREATED to be strapped on top of cars. It's all part of God's intelligent design.

Does Romney really think this homespun yarn will endear us to him? Or worse, does he really think we are going to admire his quick-thinking response?

I spent most of the story feeling sorry for the poor dog! If that's the way he treats his pets, how is he going to treat his country?

Does Romney really think this homespun yarn will endear us to him? Or worse, does he really think we are going to admire his quick-thinking response?

I spent most of the story feeling sorry for the poor dog! If that's the way he treats his pets, how is he going to treat his country?

Romney is, pure and simple, a bureaucrat - he could run Walmart, he could run the passport section of the State Department, he could run TacoBell. But the Oval Office? A rude joke ...

Why would we want someone wearing a Mormon Burqa even _visiting_ the Oval Office?

If Romney treats a pet, of whom he is fond, with such callous indifference, just imagine how he will treat us unknown peons, er, people, should he be elected.

It is precisely because Mitt is a bureaucrat, CEO type that he is the hope of the Mormon church. You see, Mormons believe that we are living in the last days, before the Second Coming of Christ, and that the world will soon be in such chaos that it will turn to the Mormon church to lead it because of the Mormon church's extreme ability to organize and be efficient. And, well, because God said that's how it would be in the last days. Really. Not making this up.

Just disgusting. I don't want another psychopath for a president, thanks.

The saddest part are the few posters who think this shows leadership. If anything, it shows stupidity, indifference, and an inability to understand how to care for a living thing.

I can't imagine how his children survived their childhood if he applied this kind of thinking toward their welfare. I can only think that he had many other people in his family watching out for them. This is also illegal in many, if not all, states.

You can't convince me that a person who would abuse animals would not abuse a person. Abuse STARTS with animals. When people see what they can get away with, they move on to people.

I cannot vote for a Mormon, but, regarding this story, I find no fault with the man. Have you never seen a dog joyfully ride in the back of a pickup truck, or sticking its head out of a car window to catch the breeze? Putting the dog on top of the car saved the inside of the car from getting the greeting card the dog was going to deliver. It is a DOG for Christ's sake! Here in China we put 'em in a wok. This is about the most stupid "issue" I have ever seen raised during an election, and it looks like the mob is eating it up AGAIN!

I'm surpised he didn't put the dog in a Radio Flyer and tie it to the bumper. What a fool.

It's like that story of Bush and his good childhood buddy that talked about how he and Bush would strap 4th of July fireworks to bullfrogs and blow-them-up.

Or Kitty-Kevorkian Bill Frist, who adopted cats from the local animal shelter to preform medical practice surgery on as med student, until little whiskers was “DEAD” and reportedly without giving whatever poor unlucky kitty of the week it was, any anesthetic of sedative.

Members of the GOP talk so often about Christian values and compassion but yet - they wouldn't be caught dead practicing compassion. Cheney thinks about torture is a "no brainer" and civil rights are for liberal sissies. The people of Iraq were going throw flowers while being left to their own post-war cleanup and post-war trauma JUST like many a wounded Iraqi US veteran has been left, all while the Bushies build a posh, exclusive billion dollar green zone for American contractors.

And here I alwasy thought that word Republican and Democrat were merely labels but Republicans are push hard to show the public that they are clearly sub-human individuals.

In a society where it has become common for people raise their dogs in crates, strapping a dog in a crate to the top of a moving car does not surprise me in the least.

Most pet owners are crazy in one way or another. If you really care about non-human animals, donate the time and money you'd normally spend on "Rover" and "Mittens" to habitat conservation and restoration.

Barry stated: "This was a great post, until the part about something "only a Mormon could come up with." What does his religion have to do with this? Sounds like bigotry to me."

I second Barry's comment. If Mitt Romney happened to be Baptist, would Ms. Cox write, only "a Baptist could come up with that?" NO SHE WOULDN'T, BIGOT. His religion has nothing to do with this story but like so many in the media, Ms. Cox can't wait to take a barb at Mr. Romney's religion. What a bigoted, classless move.

People are writing about boycots.... Well, maybe we should boycot Ana Marie Cox for being such a bigot.

Last thought:
Did the hosed-down animal go BACK up on top of the car to freeze its soaking scared bony dog-butt for the rest of the trip?

Cuz that was my question. I ain't clickin that link! I'm stayin here to kibitz with you guys.

First thought:
Uh-oh, dead dog. Then, image of Serious Capable Dad (no Clark Clifford he) competently tying down teh crate the first time.

Idle question I don't give a damn about: Whether Mitt felt--Clark Clifford, he--even a trace of humiliation at getting crapped on by his own dog! ? I mean, it's actuallyl relevant--but I don't care.

"It is a DOG for Christ's sake! Here in China we put 'em in a wok."
Is it their intelligence that makes them just a dog? Or did some old book tell you that this is the way the world works and that was good enough for you.

One need not be a bigot to be critical of Mormonism. Read the well respected (except by the LDS establishment) history of the church, "No Man Knows My History," and the recent "Leaving The Saints" to expand your understanding of the issues.

Convinced Mormons have left reality behind, they are often nice people, but they are demonstrably delusional.

I don't see why this is a big deal unless you belong to PETA (I used to but then they got hung up on demonizing people instead of helping animals). We, as a society, sanction a lot worse treatment of animals every day.

It is a funny/strange story but nothing more. It just shows that he's actually done something stupid in his life (who hasn't?). If that's the worst thing we can dig up on Romney, then this story provides that he must be, believe it or not, a fairly normal person who has done something stupid.

Let's get back to the issues and who can be the best chief executive and leader of this country.

The ride did not result in organ failure- almost, so therefore it was not torture!

Hilarious article.
I doubt you could read "political analysis" like this in any country in the world outside of North Korea.

Several hundred words expended on a family holiday thirty odd years ago with phrases like:
"As with most ventures in his life, he had left little to chance"
"Romney would be returning to the place of his most cherished childhood memories"
"Then Romney put his boys on notice"
"It was a tiny preview of a trait he would grow famous for in business: emotion-free crisis management."
"he runs on logic.''

What's so funny to me is that EVERY glowing puff piece has some sort of example of what a slimebag this guy is. For example this piece (http://newsmax.com/archives/articles/2007/5/22/90847.shtml) on his wife contains the gem...

(Ann Romney speaking) "...he'd [Mitt] dated a bunch of my friends, and so I kind of knew him a little bit from my friends. He was one of those guys that would date a girl for like six weeks and then go on to another girl, and then another and another. He kind of did that through my sophomore year. He dated about three of my friends. So I was very wary of him."

Let's see, that "was March 21, 1965" - Mitt was born March 12, 1947. So he was fully 18. Hmmmm. Eighteen year old (and presumably a high school senior) rich kid working his way through the sophmore class, basically 15 year old girls. "he'd broken a bunch of my friends' hearts" says Ann. We know what that's code for - they put out and he dropped them.

Does anyone find this creepy? Had she been my daughter I guarantee you Mitt would now be walking with a limp.

If it had been Cheney, he would have shot the dog, point-blank, in the face. And, the mongrel thing would have apologised to him too.

Clearly this Romney fellow doesn't have what it takes to win Bush's "war" on "terror".
.

I have never seen a "hulking" Irish Setter.

Irish Setters always look like Chris Robinson from the Black Crowes.

See?

http://qfg.info/images/black-crowes.jpg

IN fairness, Mitt thought it was a "War on Terriers."

ba dump bump.

It is a DOG for Christ's sake! Here in China we put 'em in a wok. This is about the most stupid "issue" I have ever seen raised during an election, and it looks like the mob is eating it up AGAIN! -- James Bishop.
Clearly the concept of bizarre and unacceptale behavior alludes you. As someone who also lives in Asia (Korea), I find your comment about how they treat dogs in China irrelevant. No one in the US or US electorate overseas (me) gives a damn what they do in China.
This is not about China, a country that abuses dogs (and cats) to use their fur in lining jackets to be shipped to Europe and America (well they did that until they got caught -- then they tried to deny it -- since then they've been trying to cover it up). China's dictatoral-corporatist government is not one you should be using to make your point. It only makes you look idiotic.
A person who has so little regard for their family dog, most likely has little regard for others in general.
Milt will most likely not get the republican nomination and he shoudln't.
The fact that you start your post with "I cannot vote for a Mormon..." shows you to be a bigot, like Marion 'Pat' Roberston and Fred Phelps.

Romney is a weasel. He told his wife to "shut up" when he was running for governor of Massachusetts and she started to express concerns about whether or not her health would hold up in Massachusetts (she has MS). That right there told me that he's a heartless bastard who would always put his career before family. And the woman he "loves."

Add to that the fact he has never encouraged his sons to fight for this country, that he never spent much time in massachusetts doing the job he was elected to do (even after he lied about his residency in order to run here), and you get a picture of a calculating liar. He no more deserves to president than he deserves to be dog catcher.

I don't belong to PETA, TC.

Sorry, but normal folks do NOT put their pets in carriers on top of their vehicles during the summer heat for twelve hour trips. Normal people would NOT even think of doing such a thing.

Normal people who have pets and take them on trips, stop periodically to allow the animals to relieve themselves so that the animals do not relieve themselves in the vehicles.

I see nothing funny about the "story."

How many animals have you ever seen riding on top of a vehicle, TC?

i now am the happy owner of my 6th dog. NO! i never considered putting any of them on the roof of my car. some body spell MORON!!!!!!

Eighteen year old (and presumably a high school senior) rich kid working his way through the sophmore class, basically 15 year old girls.

That was part of Mitt's required missionary work....

I don't like Romney, but what in the hell is this line supposed to mean:

"The kind of out-of-the-box solution only a Mormon could come up with, really."

Did I miss something? Has Romney ever said that his Mormonism makes him uniquely qualified to be president or think out of the box. That's really a puzzling sentence.

"You see, Mormons believe that we are living in the last days, before the Second Coming of Christ, and that the world will soon be in such chaos that it will turn to the Mormon church to lead it because of the Mormon church's extreme ability to organize and be efficient. And, well, because God said that's how it would be in the last days. Really. Not making this up."

Uhhh, maybe *you* didn't make it up, but it is made up.

"Nice try Jayson. Republicans will go to any lengths to excuse bad behavior of other republicans. Mormons will go to any lengths to make excuses for Mormons. Yes, its that obvious that you're Mormon.

Let me get this straight: It's ok to put the dog on the roof of a car going 75 miles per hour for who knows how many hours (determined by Mrs. Romney's bladder), in very hot weather as long as its not starved or beaten to death?

This is the same republican logic that brought us the rational that waterboarding is not torture as long as the waterboarding doesn't actually drown the prisoner, shoving a stick up a prisoner's a** is ok as long as its not someone's penis, hooding an enemy combatant and hooking him up to electrodes is ok as long as no one takes a picture of it. Do you see why no one trusts republicans anymore?

Do you really think that riding to the rescue of the Salt Lake City Olympic Games, which were put into financial difficulty by corrupt Mormons, can really give Mitt any credibility to solve the nation's financial woes, which were created by corrupt republicans???? There is no comparison of scale or skill in reality, only in your (and every other Mormon on the planet) head.

Mitt fought with everything he had to force the citizens of Massachusettes to buy health insurance, which is really just a huge gift to the insurance industry, the very industry that is breaking the back of the American middle class. True to form, when it doesn't work out, and Mitt gets called to account for it, people like you will come to his rescue and insist that it wasn't his fault, because after all, he can do no wrong, ever.

PLEASE, quit the rationalizing. It makes you seem weak and pathetic. I know, I know. You will keep the blinders on because Mormons and republicans can do no wrong. God said so. "

Replace the word "Mormon" with the word "Jew" or "Catholic" and let's see how people react to this post. If this isn't a religiously bigoted post, there's no such thing as religious bigotry.

Dont give religion a free pass. Make people responsible for the terrible crap they believe, like that 776 million Indians are going to hell because they were not born to christian/mormon parents. So while that post may appear a little bigoted, you religion asks for it.

And this story is supposed to illuminate some kind of admirable trait? First, getting feces on your car is not a 'crisis'. But more importantly, it shows a remarkable disregard for the welfare of his dog. How could he know, speeding down the highway, if the dog was scared, hungry, thirsty, or needed to go to the washroom? I can't think of a single person who'd conduct themselves this way. If I saw someone do that, I'd call the cops in an instant. The man is idiot.

In all fairness, the straightforward and vacuous Mitt probably asked the dog where he'd like to sit.

And Seamus responded,"Roof, roof!"

If I'd of walked in On Bill Frist vivisecting a cat of mine I would have killed him then and there.

If I'd of walked in On Bill Frist vivisecting a cat of mine I would have killed him then and there.

If I'd of walked in On Bill Frist vivisecting a cat of mine I would have killed him then and there.

what a ridiculous thing to do...

also... "The kind of out-of-the-box solution only a Mormon could come up with, really."

really? what a ridiculous thing to say.

I think it shows how stupid it is to have a pet. Animals are for work, not for bringing on vacation. It is a good lesson learned for all Americans.

Animal lovers just can't figure out that it's people that matter. "strap his wife or kids on the roof" is just retarded. Those are PEOPLE if you can't see the difference, you shouldn't be voting to begin with. Did the dog die? Was it traumatized? Was it harmed? No, no and no. The stupid thing forgot about it after it got down and found something to sniff.

Scaring an animal is no crime. If he habitually kicked the dog or trimmed it's ears or tail so it looked nicer, then you might have a story. No harm no foul. I just hope it washed off easily with the water, good on that Tadd, Tapp or Tagg kid for noticing it right away, it would have been a shame if the acidity had harmed the paint on that vintage station wagon

that was the family dog. what would he do to the country expeditiously?

mittens is a prick

Mitt just let the dog think it was probably going to die up on the roof. Then he soaked it with water until it thought it would drown. So what's the big deal? He treated the dog just like he wants people treated. I'm sure he stopped short of organ failure. ("Hey Dad, wasn't Seamus a different color before we stopped at that pet store?")

Short note to all - I LOVE these posts! Hysterical, most made me laugh our loud! You are all some seriously freakin' funny people!
Seriously for one moment, I once worked for a guy like Mitt. He was a selfish, egotistical bastard that got his way by bullying and putting others down. He was also considered a "great businessman", but I grew to hate going to work because of his attitude and his tactics. He once swore to me that abortion was murder and that my pro-life position was horrible, but when his 15 year old daughter wanted a second term abortion in high school, he was the one who drove her to the clinic.
These posts about Mitt and his wife also made me flash back - that is how my ex-boss talked to his wife and kids through the years. She finally divorced him when his behavior became too much. She was a devout Christian, but at some point, the bullying and terrible treatment was worse than being a divorcee. Sounds like, if this last post about the wife is true, that the health of his family (wife, dog, and kids) is less important than what Mitt wants. Unless that means substituting OUR kids for HIS in this pointless war without end.

I'm no fan of Romney, but "in all seriousness" you this whole anecdote is pretty pointless either way.
--Crust

"Either way." You mean, whether or not you're in favor of dog torture? Be a shame to lose that all-important GOP dog torturer vote, on the one hand. On the other, a few librul queers might object. But the majority of GOP voters, being dog-torturers themselves, will surely line right up behind him. Two Guantanamos and a shitting-with-terrror dog in every house--that's a winning platform if ever there was one.

We cannot allow this man to become president. He clearly is an idiot for doing this to his poor dog in the first place. Then, the evidence of his idiocy is compounded by Romney's not realizing that rather than being impressed by his grace under pressure, every normal human being in the world would think was a monster. At the very least, he is stupid enough to hire th moron who included this obscene episode in a campaign ad.

The "people" (the borg) who will vote for him are those who think torturing animals, making them suffer is ok. Better them than us is their motto. He's a disgusting man--presidential candidate-NOT. I've had enough contact with Mormons to be really frightened by the rigidity of their thinking and their heartless lack of empathy for living beings. I say that as a person who has overcome significant brainwashing from being raised in a fundamentalist family.

Chris

It is never bigotry to criticize white men and religion so long as it is some branch of Christianity.

You can find it in the Liberal Rule Book between the "Call the other person a racist if you are losing an argument with him" and the "Blame it on Bush is an effective answer to any problem" entries...

Mitt gets my vote ... for Warden at Abu Ghraib.

"It is never bigotry to criticize white men and religion so long as it is some branch of Christianity."

Jesus wants you to stop whining.

Let's face it. Mitt is scary.

"Dont give religion a free pass. Make people responsible for the terrible crap they believe, like that 776 million Indians are going to hell because they were not born to christian/mormon parents. So while that post may appear a little bigoted, you religion asks for it."

Wow. The ignorance. Mormons don't believe 776 million Indians are going to hell, mostly because they don't believe in hell for more than, maybe, 10 individuals. Do your homework. In addition, Mormonism provides a way for everyone, regardless of where they were born or who their parents were, to have an equal chance at the highest reward in heaven. This is in contrast to most other Christian denominations, as far as I know.

Furthermore, just because Mormons or Christians have beliefs you don't agree with doesn't make paragraphs like his any less bigoted. Bigotry is when you say that all the members of a group are like this or like that, when, in fact, they are not all like this or like that. Criticize real Mormon beliefs (as opposed to the falsehood you presented) all you want, but it's not acceptable to jump to unjust or inaccurate conclusions.

"I've had enough contact with Mormons to be really frightened by the rigidity of their thinking and their heartless lack of empathy for living beings."

Let's just try swapping "Mormon" for another religious group just once:

"I've had enough contact with Jews to be really frightened by the rigidity of their thinking and their heartless lack of empathy for living beings."

Make you a little sick? Well it should whether it says "Mormons" or "Jews."

Emotion-free conservatism. It seems almost to be redundant, doesn't it?

But but... he smells good. At least that's what the talking heads are telling me.

What an idiot. Washed down the dog and put it back up there. Hope Animal Rights or ASPCA get hold of this one.

What's being a Mormon got to being an idiot. Baptist, Methodist and Catholics can be too.

Hey, I lived through this moron in Massachusetts. If you vote for him, you get what you deserve. Better be ultra-ready to moonlight for a living.

Well this did it for me. A person who would treat a dog in this manner tells me a lot about the man. First, he has a loose screw (but so do most of them in DC). Second, this is the view on how he would treat anyone who he thought didn't deserve to be sitting in the seat with him. Wake up Americans, do we need someone like this in DC or anywhere else??????? I