Althouse: Why Barney bit the reporter.

November 14, 2008

Why Barney bit the reporter.

As you probably know, the President's dog Barney bit a reporter (a dog-ignorant Reuters reporter named Jon Decker). Barney's point of view:

27 comments:

TosaGuy said...: Dogs know who is a good person and who is not. Mr. Reuters Guy obviously was the latter.

I always enjoyed the Christmas BarneyCam; 11/14/08, 8:23 AM
Peter Hoh said...: So so writing, but lousy voice work hurts the clip.; 11/14/08, 8:35 AM
sierra said...: When I saw the title in my feed reader, my first thought was Barney Frank is at it again.; 11/14/08, 8:35 AM
Richard Fagin said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 11/14/08, 8:39 AM
Richard Fagin said...: Good dog, Barney!!

If the President only had a Rottweiler.; 11/14/08, 8:39 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: The question now is whether Barney will now be brought up on war crime charges with the rest of the administration for targeting journalists.; 11/14/08, 8:58 AM
knox said...: Aren't dogs supposed to be able to sense vampires?

(That one's for Trooper.); 11/14/08, 9:20 AM
Palladian said...: I think I've heard before that Barney is not very nice. He was a gift of Christine Todd Whitman, after all, so he knows a little something about biting the hand that feeds him.; 11/14/08, 9:21 AM
Palladian said...: Aha! It was Karl Rove who trash talked Barney. But he didn't say Barney was mean. He just called him a lump.; 11/14/08, 9:22 AM
former law student said...: Dogs who bite generally must go into quarantine for ten days to see if they are carrying rabies. Did Barney have to do this, or did the President pardon him?

Someone should have told the reporter that terriers do not typically cotton to being petted by strangers. Further, in this case Barney's vision was obscured by his hair, which always makes a dog edgy.

If Barney is brought up on assault charges, I would plead he was acting in self defense, because he was in apprehension that the barely seen hand would touch him. Whether the reportorial assault was harmful or offensive would not matter; Barney is obviously a canine of great dignity.; 11/14/08, 9:24 AM
Palladian said...: Look at this picture! Do you know what those spiral things are? They're coiled pizzle! Penises! There haven't been that many saliva-covered penises strewn around the oval office since the Clinton administration.; 11/14/08, 9:26 AM
Palladian said...: "If Barney is brought up on assault charges, I would plead he was acting in self defense, because he was in apprehension that the barely seen hand would touch him."

This could be used as a defense for the behavior of the entire Bush administration.; 11/14/08, 9:27 AM
Henry said...: LOL. BEWARE THE BARELY SEEN HAND.; 11/14/08, 9:31 AM
rhhardin said...: That's a precisely administered bite, if you ask me.

One of the rules though is no biting. This has to be explained to the dog sometimes.; 11/14/08, 9:45 AM
Palladian said...: Uh oh. Barney's now going to be a defendant in Obama's upcoming Bush Administration War Crimes Tribunal.; 11/14/08, 9:51 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: Hey, didn't Hitler have a dog?

It all fits now. How did I ever miss it?; 11/14/08, 10:11 AM
Daryl said...: That's not Barney's POV.

You're just saying, based on this video which is 180 degrees opposite of Barney's POV most of the time, we can imagine what Barney's POV was.

The distinction--between what a video actually shows, and what you claim we can infer from it--is a crucial one, and should not be elided in the future.; 11/14/08, 10:12 AM
bearbee said...: The question now is whether Barney will now be brought up on war crime charges with the rest of the administration for targeting journalists.

Isn't he covered by governmental immunity? Probably thought the finger was part of a milksop....err.....toast......BONE.

Was Barney checked out by the WH physician against an infiltration of Reuter cooties?

Barney is known to be something of an 'ankle-biter.'

...Barney, who is seen by some as aloof and entitled."

So, will he be running for Congress? Seems thoroughly qualified.; 11/14/08, 10:36 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: Well we can all rest assured that Obama won't be buying a rabid, fingerbitingmonger dog with obvious ties to Petsmartburton and an utter disdain for freedom of the press.

The sun is almost over the horizon.; 11/14/08, 10:44 AM
Trooper York said...: They are just lucky that Sarah Palin didn't win because she has a pet polar bear that she will feed the scum reporters to on a regular basis.

The only thing that tastes worse than a journalist is a lawyer.; 11/14/08, 11:02 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 11/14/08, 11:36 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: Trooper don't forget Palin fishes too and I hear journalists make good chum.

Lawyers don't make good bait as their close relations to the shark cause the fish flee in terror; 11/14/08, 11:37 AM
Jake said...: As a service to humanity, I am starting a foundation that will train dogs to bite reporters on sight.

The dogs will be trained to leave bloggers alone.; 11/14/08, 11:38 AM
integrity said...: My terrier (miniature schnauzer) has never bit any stranger, and he is a tough little mo fo.

Barney bit the reporter because he was trained to be an obnoxious mongrel by his obnoxious mongrel master, George Tush.

I was not surprised at all.; 11/14/08, 12:28 PM
Susan said...: Thanks Palladian. My what to get my dog for Christmas quandry has been solved!!; 11/14/08, 12:50 PM
Deb said...: I'm going to miss Barney. I used to own a Scottie and they are truly the best dogs. They are a bit feisty and dig a lot. They also were bred to find and chase vermin, which might explain why he went after the reporter. However, if you've ever owned a Scottie, you would have realized Barney had had enough. They don't like strangers. And you would not have stuck you finger so close to those vise-like jaws.; 11/14/08, 6:44 PM
Charles said...: He's a war mongrel!; 11/15/08, 6:04 AM