Posts Tagged ‘Al Capone’

That Can’t Be Right - Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

bo-and-big-obama

Yap No. 9

I quite like Martha’s Vineyard but it’s a bit of a boring place for dogs. There’s not even a decent cat to chase. But the Obama family are vacationing here at my insistence.

Given the grandstanding going on in the media about Big O taking a holiday at all, imagine the hoo-hah if I hadn’t convinced him the French Riviera was not a good idea.

Big O and I were out on a bit of a power-walk along the coast when he said to me ‘I’m worried that people don’t seem to comprehend where I stand politically’

‘How do you mean?’ I asked

‘Well’ said Big O ‘some believe that I’m too far to the Left and others that I’m too far to the Right’

‘Oh’ I said ‘so where are you?’

‘I’ve always thought of myself’ said Big O ‘as a bit to the left of Jack Kennedy, a bit to the right of Jimmy Carter and a bit to the side of Bill Clinton’

‘No’ I said ‘that was Monica’

‘Very funny’ said Big O

‘Howard Dean’ I said ‘thinks you’re a borderline conservative’

‘Howard Dean’ said Big O ‘ is so far to the left he thinks the communist party is a capitalist plot to avoid the cost of elections’

‘There’s a guy on Fox News who thinks you’re a communist’ I said

‘I know who you mean’ said Big O ‘he’s the guy who thinks Sarah Palin is a gift from God’

‘That clinches it’ I said ‘I always suspected God was a Republican. As a matter of interest exactly what sort of a Democrat are you?’

‘Interesting question’ said Big O ‘I’m basically a Rev Wright anti-George W demagogue with a touch of Martin Luther King and Ronald Reagan all neatly parcelled up at the Rod Blagojevich Chicago Democrat finishing school’

‘I thought you were a progressive’ I said

‘Well I am on some things’ said Big O ‘like healthcare and illegal immigrants but when it comes to firing drones at Al Qaeda I tend more towards a Rumsfeld-Al Capone philosophy’

‘Aren’t you a mate of Bill Ayres?’ I asked

‘Not really’ said Big O ‘If I want any advice on blowing up buildings I’ve got the Pentagon and Rahm Emanuel’

‘I see Harry Reid and Howard Dean are opposing you on the New York mosque’ I said

‘I know’ said Big O ‘but Harry just wants to get re-elected and Howard’s desperate to say something that somebody will agree with’

‘That was an interesting comment you made’ I said ‘about wanting to do the right things rather than the things that would get you re-elected’

‘You bet’ said Big O ‘but based on my current polling I’m not going to get re-elected even if I do the wrong things. Ok let’s head back now’

‘Big O’ I said ‘you’re going the wrong way. Our place is over there to the right’

‘Sorry Bo’ said Big O ‘I’ve never been good at knowing my right from my left’

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Indogtrination - Thursday, July 15th, 2010

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Shaggy Dog Stories by Bo, the first Dog, about his dog days in the White House with Obama

Yap No. 2

I must admit to having misgivings about my new role as senior adviser to Big O. The trouble is I‘m not really a Democrat. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not a Republican either and I thought George W was a radical ratbag.

Barney deserves a medal for keeping him under control.

I guess I’m slapbang between the two and an independent at heart. So I was able to overcome my concerns by reassuring myself I could give Big O some truly objective advice as distinct from the left-wing dogma he was currently copping.

Portuguese water dogs like me are a pretty amenable pedigree but we do like things to be in black and white. So the next time I met with Big O I was determined to nail down my exact position in the White House hierarchy.

‘Nice paper on Iraq Bo’ said Big O ‘Great idea to have that special Baghdad BBQ day when the country celebrates its freedom from George W Bush’

‘Thank you Big O’ I said ‘Now could you please specify my exact role as your senior adviser’

‘Of course’ said Big O ‘First I see you as the Joe Biden clean-up guy’

I smelled trouble. Joe is a lovely guy but he’s the Lindsay Lohan of the White House. It’s a miracle he’s not on probation too. The thought of Bo and Big O and Joe made me feel quite queasy.

‘Every time Joe puts his foot in it’ said Big O ‘I want you to advise me on how we can deodorise it and sweep it under the carpet before anyone gets a sniff’

‘But’ I protested ‘I never do it where Joe can tread in it’

‘Relax Bo’ said Big O ‘you’re only responsible for the clean-up not the crap’

‘Do I have a role supporting Hillary in foreign affairs?’ I asked

‘Certainly’ said Big O ‘I need you to nip away at our policy on Japan and get close to that bitch at the Clinton’s’

‘Why?’ I asked

‘I like to keep tabs on all Bill’s foreign affairs as well’ said Big O

‘Oh Lord’ I thought ‘Barney will be furious’

‘And I’d like to talk to you about Rahm’ said Big O ‘in strictest confidence of course’

Rahm Emanuel is a Chicago Democrat heavy straight from central casting. If it moves kick it, if it doesn’t bury it. He’s a bigger ankle-biter than I am.

‘Rahm’s a wonderful guy’ said Big O ‘but he does have some Al Capone moments. I’d like you to make a fake tape of a phone conversation with Sarah Palin where he asks her out on a date. I’ll just keep it as insurance’

‘Eric Holder must give you a few problems’ I said

‘You wouldn’t believe it’ said Big O ‘but he was the only lawyer I could find who tells the truth and doesn’t overcharge’

‘What’s my position in relation to David Axelrod?’ I asked

‘You’re on the same level’ said Big O ‘although perhaps I see him as the slight underdog’

‘So what are my immediate priorities?’ I asked

‘That’s easy’ said Big O ‘when it comes to the Tea Party, illegal Mexican immigrants and the oil spill you have to make sure I don’t go with the flow’

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Full of Promise - Friday, November 13th, 2009

A politician’s promise is like a hooker’s embrace. They both offer a fleeting glimpse of paradise which comes at a cost.

The reality is that politician’s promises are fool’s gold. Yet within us all persists a faith that the world can be a better place and the latest political wannabe might just be the one to make it happen.

Politicians make promises safe in the knowledge that the electorate recognises the difference between dishonesty and political dishonesty. And let’s face it, if you’re not on a promise from anyone else then a politician’s is better than nothing.

Obama, however, was different. He promised he could change the world and the world believed in him to such a degree that he no longer seemed like a politician.

After all he was a community organiser from Chicago just like Al Capone who had an impressive track record of change and making everyone believe in it..

His promises were so overwhelmingly believable that he was awarded a Nobel Prize just for making them.

Since his election a year ago Obama has certainly brought about change. The economy has gone much further down the toilet and Obamacare seems likely to propel it all the way to the recycling plant.

The situation in Afghanistan has changed because Karzai has interpreted the concept of democracy to mean that he can cast as many votes as he likes.

In the past both Britain and Russia have failed to secure a satisfactory passage up the Khyber Pass. Obama is therefore taking his time to decide whether he should send forty thousand troops or an enema.

The world still awaits change at Gitmo. The inmates there were amongst the first to receive swine flu jabs from the US programme and they will undoubtedly be amongst the first to benefit from a vaccine effective against the terrorist epidemic.

Obama is yet to change Iran’s mind about nuclear ambitions. Advisers believe he should not hold discussions with Ahmedinejad until the job has driven him mad and there can be a true meeting of the minds.

His views on where the 2016 Olympics should be held obviously had a profound effect on the Olympic Committee. They agreed that Brazil should host them for the first time. Now there’s change you can believe in.

Obamacare will certainly bring about change. It promises to be an expensive pill to swallow with no guarantee of economic pain relief.

If climate change is the change we have to believe in then the ultimate way to address it could be through harnessing the intense solar energy shining out of the backsides of Obama and Al Gore.

The main change Obama has made which we can believe in is that he’s not George W Bush although that proposition is not entirely black and white.

Alas there’s one change which none of us wanted to believe in. Obama has become a politician just like all the rest of them.

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