President-Elect Obama: the American Mutt

Yesterday, our president-elect held his first press conference. Lots of questions about the economy and what kind of steps Obama might take. He actually answered the questions more about approaches he is considering. Funny how I used to get annoyed by those kinds of answers during the primaries, but now I find them refreshing.

What is more refreshing is how Obama is so comfortable in his own skin in discussing matters of race. When asked about what kind of puppy the Obama family wants, he answered it smiling with an off-the-cuff comment:

Obviously, a lot of shelter dogs are mutts like me. So whether we're going to be able to balance those two things, I think, is a pressing issue on the Obama household.

No wonder the Humane Society endorsed Obama this year--the first time it had ever endorsed a candidate for the presidence. He had been a leader in legislation to strengthen animal shelters and strengthen penalties to those who are cruel to animals. The above picture has him holding a dog who was rescued and has only three legs.

I think Obama is going to make a lot of us more comfortable in talking about our" mutts" --human or animal. Put a little love in your hearts, as the song goes. Here's a version by Mary Mary.