Mitt Romney and John Dickerson — Sociopathic Dickheads
The fact that Mitt Romney put his family pet — Seamus, an Irish Setter — in a kennel, then strapped that kennel to the roof of his car for a 12-hour road trip, causing the petrified beast to crap all over the roof of the car, is not the worst part of the story. The worst part is that, with a few exceptions such as the Time magazine story linked above, the media has greeted the tale with a sort of blase shrug of the shoulders. Slate.com's chief political correspondent, John Dickerson, is indicative of the whole scene, in this exchange from CNN's American Morning, just this morning:
DICKERSON: ... This is the kind of incredibly entertaining story that has, you know, liberals amused and chuckling, and that probably, we would hope, wouldn't actually change the way people vote.
CHETRY: ... and sometimes the strangest things are the littlest things ... PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, they're not happy about this at all.
DICKERSON: Well, no, they're not happy, and other people who may not have a particular interest in animal rights would, nevertheless think it's sort of odd behavior ...
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An entertaining story? Odd behavior? This shouldn't affect how people vote? Dickerson is clearly living up to his name — if he's not a complete dick himself, he must at least be the son of one. The sad part is that, as I stated early, Dickerson's view is more or less endemic of that seen in the media over the last few days.
Look, I'm as convinced that PETA is full of loons as the next guy. And generally speaking, I tend to take a pretty libertarian view on what people can and cannot do in their private lives. But God-fucking-dammit, strapping your dog to the roof of your car is NOT OK. What the hell is wrong with people like Dickerson that they greet this story with anything less than utter revulsion?
John Dickerson, Chief Pol. Correspondent, Slate.com:
If you see this man, please grab him by the shoulders and
shake him back and forth while screaming,
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"
Mitt Romney, Republican Presidential Candidate:
If you see this man, please do not vote for him.
And for God's sake, don't let him near your dog.