apparently the dog is more important than domestic policy, at least as suggested by the writeup here...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bo_(dog)
"The Obama family originally seemed to emphasize their desire for an adopted shelter dog, but made no firm commitments.[28] In the summer of 2008, Best Friends Animal Society, an animal welfare organization, gathered 50,000 signatures on a petition asking the family to adopt a shelter animal.[29]
As Bo is a gift from the Kennedy family, he is not a shelter dog. Some dog experts, such as Cesar Millan, state that Bo could be considered part of a larger group known as rescue dogs,
as he was unsuccessful in his first home, when plans for him to provide companionship to an older female dog went awry because he irritated the dog through attempts to suckle.[16][30] The Obamas have pledged to donate to the District of Columbia Humane Society to show their support for shelter dogs.[31]
Some criticism has arisen from animal welfare supporters because Bo was not adopted from a shelter.[29] The Humane Society of the United States released a statement on their website thanking the Obamas "for taking in a second-chance dog," but also encouraged the public to avoid going through breeders.[32]"
fucking christ...