Is there anything the Clinton White House won't spin? On Sunday, Nov. 8, the president's chocolate Labrador retriever Buddy sent Marine Corps helicopter pilot John "Ken" Faircloth to the infirmary for a couple of stitches in his hand. But this was no ordinary dog-man encounter, at least not after the White House's expert flacks got done massaging the story.
In the words of presidential flack Barry Toiv, which deserve to be immortalized: "It was not a bite." Toiv didn't stop there. He told the Washington Post's "Reliable Source" column, "It's probably more accurate to say that [Faircloth's] hand was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was playing ball with Buddy. Apparently he went for the ball with his hand at the same time Buddy went for it with his mouth. His hand scraped a tooth and he had a couple of stitches and he's fine."
Geez. His hand scraped a tooth? It's not like a nip from the presidential pooch is an impeachable offense. Buddy was probably just bored from being trotted across the White House lawn for the cameras whenever the president boards his helicopter to Camp David. In any event, since the White House presumably procured Buddy for some incremental PR benefit with dog-owners in the first place, it's condign punishment that they now have to spin his misdeeds.