President Obama has secured his place in the Oval Office for at least another four years. So, during his second term there probably won’t be any more stage-managed photo ops that feature the Obama family making “surprise visits” to St. John’s Episcopal Church. Without the threat of God-fearing Americans at the ballot box, Barack Obama is now free to let his secular progressive/non-religious freak flag fly for all the world to see.
This year, despite having a Scripture-quoting ’Christian’ president, finding Christ in the White House is as impossible as it was for Mary and Joseph, on the night Jesus was born, to find a room at an inn.
Gone are the days of heralding angels and Bethlehem stars. This year, the famous 18th century Christian hymn based on the 98th Psalm, “Joy to the World,” has been replaced with a revamped “Joy to All” theme. After all, if Barack “Joy to All” Obama is allowed to modify the U.S. Constitution, why shouldn’t he have free reign to fine-tune the Psalms of King David?
Allegedly, when he was a child in Indonesia, chicken fingers were not exactly Obama’s favorite food. Hence, Christmas may present an opportunity for the President to remediate his reputation within the dog-loving community. What else would explain why doggy decorations are everywhere and the other ‘Messiah’ is, shall we say, nowhere to be found?
This year 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue has literally been converted into a ‘dog house’/shrine to the first family’s beloved Portuguese water dog Bo. Christmas at the White House can now officially be referred to as Canine-mas.
There are 54 trees; 6,000 glass ornaments; a black and white topiary of Bo; 18,000 black pooch pompoms and 2,000 white pooch pompoms; and 40 handmade “Bo-flakes” adorned with little Bo images. When the anticipated 90,000 visitors saunter through the White House to ogle the shimmering lights over the next few weeks, the only thing missing will be Bo barking out that old Burl Ives favorite, “Have a Holly Jolly Christmas.”
There’s even a 300-pound gingerbread White House with a replica of Bo sitting outside guarding the fort. If confectionary reproductions were the goal, why didn’t the display include something like a crèche with the three Wise Men – Obama, Axelrod, and Carney – complete with a replica of Bo resting comfortably beside the manger?
Not only that, but where’s the political correctness in all of this? What’s especially alarming is that the normally sensitive, diversity-minded White House didn’t even consider the feelings of cats, potbellied pigs, goldfish, or hamsters, none of which were featured like Bo in the collection of pet-themed ornaments. And, as if offending other pet species weren’t enough, insult was added to injury when the White House released its 2012 Bo-liday…er, I mean, holiday card.
Chosen by the White House as the design for the Obama Christmas card was a rendering done by Des Moines, Iowa artist Larassa Kabel. In an amazing coincidence, prior to the November election Larassa’s husband’s rock band just so happened to open for Bruce Springsteen at an Obama campaign rally.
Sounding a lot like so many disappointed voters on November 7th, after finding out her entry was selected the artist called the moment “surreal.” Kabel added that originally she had ”very, very, very low expectations” for the painting – much like the ”very, very, very, low expectations” all those disappointed voters have for the next four years.
Kabel’s black-and-white rendering features a sprightly Bo absorbed in a snow dance in front of a hazy depiction of the White House. Preserving “separation of church and state,” thank God there’s not even one hint of spirituality. It must be that in Obama’s world a blurry dog frolicking in the snow captures the true essence of Christmas.
Based on a photo the White House sent out as the subject of the competition, the winning entry depicts Bo in a scarf. Regrettably, the winter wonderland in the painting is foggy, because if more detail was included an “I Bark for Obama” 2012 bandana could have been added for an additional touch of whimsy.
Nonetheless, although the White House stands for the workers of America, Kabel won’t be paid for her winning portrait of Bo. But she doesn’t seem to mind – this holiday season, like every other day of the year, private citizens like Ms. Kabel are honored to give gifts of blood, sweat and tears, freely and without expectation of recompense, to the nation’s pro-labor president.
For Larassa, being chosen is obviously a gift in itself. The delighted artist said, “I’m living on glory,” a sentiment not unlike the first family’s, who, this year alone, gloriously gifted themselves with $1.4 billion in taxpayer-provided perquisites.
Kabel is really excited about meeting the President and Mrs. Obama and attending the December 18th White House holiday party with her rock musician husband. Never mind the Boss and Barry - Kabel said “I’ve never seen anyone famous… I’m like, who will be at the party? I’m looking for anybody.”
So, in place of honoring the humble Savior who lay in a manger in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago, this year the big thrill for the eclectic artist is to get up close and personal with the Hollywood stars partaking of White House merriment. Rest assured, she won’t be disappointed because although Baby Jesus has been banished from the premises, undoubtedly Eva Longoria and George Clooney will be milling about.
So, as party time quickly approaches, the guest list has yet to be made public. What’s unfortunate is that the late Frank Zappa isn’t around for the unveiling of the portrait of Bo gamboling around on the South Lawn. Zappa could have kicked the White House holiday spirit into high gear by playing “Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow,” an old song that, in years to come, thanks to Bo, could become a holiday classic, as well as a gentle reminder for impoverished Americans.
Jeannie DeAngelis
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