Gail Collins, "Obama’s Wonderful Town": Obama Not Responsible

In her latest New York Times op-ed entitled "Obama’s Wonderful Town" (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/05/opinion/collins-obamas-wonderful-town.html), Gail Collins wastes ink and paper on an excerpt from a biography of Obama, which includes interviews with former girlfriends. Yet another reference by Collins to the Romney "Seamus" story? Of course:

"Also eating dog meat when you are a child in Indonesia is not the same thing as driving to Canada with the family Irish setter strapped to the roof of the car when you are 36."

Or in other words, Obama bears no responsibility for eating dogs at age 10, but there can be no forgiving Romney for placing Seamus in a wind-protected crate atop his vehicle some 30 years ago. And in fact, the Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-campaign-puts-bo-on-the-trail/2012/04/30/gIQAgZrYsT_story.html) informs us that Obama is now prominently featuring Bo, his Portuguese water dog, in official campaign advertisements:

"President Obama has unleashed a particularly unusual fundraiser for his 2012 campaign.

One Internet ad starts with a two-toned blue background, like dozens of other pro-Obama spots. Then the furry star pops into the frame, tongue out and ready to frolic. 'Join Pet Lovers for Obama,' the ad implores.

The unlikely pitchman is Bo, the White House family pet, who may well be the first 'first dog' to emerge as a central player in a presidential reelection campaign."

Personally, I think it sad that Obama has so little else to run on, and is now relying on his pet for re-election.

But back to Collins: Even if Obama has no responsibility for eating dogs as a child in Indonesia, there was also that other government report released on Friday, showing that employers added fewer-than-expected jobs in April. As observed by Peter Wehner in Commentary (http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2012/05/04/very-ugly-jobs-report-obama-economy/#more-792893):

"It’s not simply that unemployment has been above 8 percent for a record 39 months, which is bad enough. While news stories report that 115,000 new jobs were added in April, the true picture is much worse. More than 340,000 Americans dropped out of the labor force last month. The total employment level for April fell 169,000.

. . . .

The labor force participation rate (64.3 percent) reached its lowest level in more than 30 years, while the employment-population ratio (58.4 percent) is lower still."

Obama ingesting dog meat in Indonesia as a child? Who cares? However, there can be no avoiding discussion of Obama's responsibility for the worrisome state of the US economy.