You decide, Friends of Roxie's World. Here's Michael Steele's second puppy ad. And here's a story that helpfully points out that Steele neglects to mention in these ads both that he is a Republican and that he currently serves as lieutenant governor of Maryland. (Wouldn't want to confuse the voters, after all, by disclosing the fact that, puppy lover or not, the dude is a [right-wing] political animal.)
My moms and I think it's a DUMB ad that doesn't very effectively address the valid questions about substance and the issues that Democrats sensibly raised in response to the first super-slick puppy ad that got everybody talking about Steele's brilliant marketing strategy. My very observant brother Geoffrey, though, proposes that the ad is duplicitous as well as dumb. He thinks the puppy in this ad is a puppet. (See his comment on my previous post.) That, my loyal fans, would take the War on Terriers to a new low, in my humble opinion. I mean, really, you're gonna hide behind a poor, innocent dog, and you don't even have the guts to use a real dog as your cynical prop? This old dog's head positively spins at the idea. My moms the English profs call that the vertigo of the signifier torn loose from the signified, but I just think it's creepy. (My moms are so weird.)
Anyway, the good news is that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is on the air in Maryland with a fairly clever response to Steele's faux-paw campaign. We haven't been able to find it yet out on the internets, but when we do we'll let you know. Meantime, kids, please weigh in on the great Puppy or Puppet question.
Oh, and Friday is the birthday of progressive talk goddess Stephanie Miller. Momma, your Official Dog Blogger sends you another full-body lick and the hope that you might have all the boxed wine you want on this your "thirty-fifth" birthday. :-)
Compliments of the day to Ms. Miller and her official dog blogger, Roxie.
ReplyDeleteWe're whooping it up over here at the Malamute Saloon because The Young Turks with Cenk Uygur is now on Air America from 6 to 9 a.m. and that just makes our morning!
Dudley
(No, I don't know how the malamutes got their name on a saloon. I'd call it the Beagle Bar, myself.)
I don't get it, Dudley--Why we seem to be having some weird techno-problem w/ your comments. You are no ZERO. You are a mighty BEAGLE, and here in Roxie's World your comments COUNT. I mean, gosh, it's not like you're some poor American voter trying to vote on a Diebold machine. This is the blogosphere, where democracy happens, virtually anyway. We'll see if my comment posts. Keep speaking, D-dude. We want to hear from you. R.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a puppet. And what is this bull about "change"?!
ReplyDeletehello Roxie!! thank you for your comment in our guestbook :)
ReplyDeletekisses for you from Fox, your polish friend :*
Not a puppet--the dog licks its chops in a way that a puppet couldn't in the shot right after the growl. It's just a very fine actor, with a very well trained trainer who knows how to bring the best out of his/her actor. A couple of additional growls later in the ad suggest that the trainer is keeping a "growl-worthy" object moving outside of camera range.
ReplyDeleteBut why a Boston Terrier? Why not a Chesapeake Bay Retriever, the state dog? Why not a Siberian Husky, the dog Mr. Steele actually lives with? I personally think Mr. Steele is trying to persuade us he has all the excellent qualities of a terrier.
We beagles don't growl often, but that merits a "Grrr!"
Dudley