Obama shows Bo some love

President Obama is showing he would never put First Dog Bo on the roof of his car like GOP presidential aspirant Mitt Romney once did.
Monday, Obama adviser David Axelrod tweeted a photo of the president sitting with his Portuguese water dog in a vehicle. It looks like the Commander-in-Chief kept a firm grip while thoughtfully helping Bo look out the window. Axelrod added a description: "How loving owners transport their dogs."
Is Obama really showing some love here? It looks like the window is closed, which would be the responsible thing to do ... and Bo clearly has his leash on, but we don't know if he's harnessed to anything. The Edmunds.com car website has tips for driving with dogs, including the advice of expert veterinarian Dr. Kimberly May. "May says that the best restraint for dogs is a good harness and a seatbelt," Edmunds contributor Barbara Chuck wrote last year.
The photo is certainly a world away from what Romney did almost 30 years ago: put his Irish setter Seamus in a crate atop the family station wagon on a cross-country trip. Poor Seamus had some hygiene problems from his perch.
Obama has also unveiled a "Pet Lovers for Obama" site, picking up where one of Romney's GOP rivals, Newt Gingrich, left off. Gingrich has a "Pets With Newt 2012" site.
One wonders if Axelrod's, Obama's and Gingrich's moves all represent a double-dog dare to Romney to step forward and address his dog-on-roof controversy head-on.