With Texas Gov. Rick Perry looking more likely to launch a presidential bid, political analysts are starting to speculate about how he may shake up the race. But one thing’s clear — he has the inside track against Mitt Romney in the dog lover primary.
Back in 2007, you may recall, Romney found himself in hot water with dog lovers when the Boston Globe reported that he made a 12-hour family road trip in 1983 with their Irish setter, Seamus, strapped to the roof in a dog carrier. “(H)ours into the ride,” the Globe reported, “Seamus apparently suffered diarrhea, which ran down the back window of the car. Romney’s sons, all under 14, howled in disgust. Romney pulled off the road into a service station. There, he borrowed a hose, washed down Seamus and the car, and they drove on to Ontario.”
Seamus Romney subsequently became a global sensation, and currently has his own Twitter account.
Contrast that story with this event from last year, and it leaves little doubt that Perry has the stronger case to make to dog lovers:
Perry (R) told the Associated Press on Tuesday that he needed just one shot from the laser-sighted pistol he sometimes carries while jogging to take down a coyote that menaced his puppy during a February run near Austin.
Perry said he carries his .380 Ruger — loaded with hollow-point bullets — when jogging on trails because he is afraid of snakes. But when a coyote came out of the brush toward his daughter’s Labrador retriever, Perry charged.
“Don’t attack my dog, or you might get shot . . . if you’re a coyote,” he said Tuesday.
I suppose Romney will have to chase the coyote-lover vote.
