Years ago I had a received a sheltie puppy as a gift. I called her Mistress. By the time Mistress came into my life I had moved away from home and so Mistress was the first pet that I had to be totally responsible for. There was no one else to pick up the slack. Rain, shine, snow or sleet, my responsibilities did not end. She was a brilliant dog that more or less trained herself. The first 6 months were relatively easy as I was able to take her everywhere with me. Then my job changed and so did my relationship with Mistress. She hated being alone and set about every day destroying the house. She chewed up tiles, baseboards, walls, blankets, my brand new stereo speakers etc. As quickly as I thought I had removed temptation; she found a new way to vent her anger at what she perceived was my abandonment of her. Eventually she grew up and became my boon companion and protector of not only myself but my children as well. What I learned from that experience was that puppies were cute but nothing replaces maturity.
I only caught the last half of the VP debate last night. Watching the televised debate, I was reminded of the difference between puppies and dogs. Cheney is the old bulldog and Edwards is the young pup, cute and eager to please but not yet dog enough to patrol the yard and fight off all intruders to the death.
To paraphrase Dick Cheney, “If they couldn’t stand up to the pressures Howard Dean presented, how can they stand up to Al Qaeda?”
Indeed.
1 comment:
That's exactly how I felt when watching the debate, Kate. Both men appeared to be honourable and intelligent, and either one would be a good candidate to replace a president if need be. However, Edwards seemed too ... too ... too much of a Hollywood stereotype of what a politician should be. He practically jumped out of his chair trying to get the last word in the debate.
Cheney, on the other hand seemed "mature" and composed. If I were him, I'd slapped Edwards on the face the moment he mentioned Cheney's family and, to his credit, the VP acknowledged the kind words spoken and moved on. Not an opportunist, not a usurper, but rather a man who is trying to do what's right without drawing attention to himself.
Like an experienced man would.
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