Now that Barack Obama has been elected president, he can start fulfilling his many campaign promises — including the one to his two daughters that when the election was over, regardless of the outcome, they would be cuddling up to a new dog.As the whole world heard last night during his victory speech in Grant Park, Obama declared that his girls had “earned the new puppy that’s coming with us to the White House.”By now, the Obamas should know that everything they do, including picking a family pet, will be interpreted through a political prism.Obama and his wife, Michelle, have been talking about a dog for a while.He had said a year ago, while campaigning in Iowa, that his older daughter, Malia, now 10, had been investigating breeds and decided that because of her allergies, she wanted a goldendoodle, which is a cross between a golden retriever and poodle. He said his daughter thought the goldendoodle “the optimal dog.”This prompted lobbying by dog lovers and animal groups against a purebred.On September 30, during an interview with Entertainment Tonight, the Obamas gave a few more details. “We’re going to adopt a dog, I think,” said Mrs. Obama. Obama then put in: “A rescue dog.”The news sped around the dog portion of the blogosphere. Many readers were thrilled, seeing this as a sign that the Obamas were taking a populist approach. Many also assumed that the Obamas were getting a dog from a shelter, although they did not exactly say that.
