Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
News

In the White House: A Fresh Em-bark-ation

NEWS ITEM: President-elect Barack Obama has promised his daughters a puppy when the family moves into the White House.

BARK OBAMA: Barack Obama has promised his daughters a puppy, though not the one pictured here.


Obama’s daughters now will get
In Washington a brand new pet.
The White House halls will echo — heark!
With sounds of both Barack and bark.

Tradition calls for presidents
To have cute pups as residents.
They help relieve the strain and stress
Of known executive distress.

Republicans and Democrats
Who often clash like dogs and cats
On this one point alike agree:
The presidential family
Deserves to have a canine pal,
A tender, loving animal.

On White House gate post an affiche:
“We’ve signed a brand-new four-year leash.”
Where better might a canine dwell?
(We query here in doggerel).

How nice that girls, while growing up,
Should share the White House with a pup!
(Not hamster, guinea pig, or guppy!
Just a lively, playful puppy!)

Neuter, masculine, or bitch?
We’ll soon be told just which-is-which.
Hirsute or bald or full of fur?
A mongrel, thoroughbred, or cur?

When journalists the news pursue
(We mean the press, the White House crew),
Attempting to attain a scoop,
They’ll surely find the latest poop!

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at editorial@forward.com, subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.

Exit mobile version