Normally, when I see a photo of a squirrel, I start thinking of dinner. But one particular squirrel has made me wonder if he is out to lunch.
The squirrel in question is named Gnocchi. He is a South Carolina gray squirrel who lives in the city of Summerville. And about one week ago, he made a prediction that made me lose my lunch: That Mitt Romney would win the presidential campaign over Barack Obama.
"His owner Serena Ash set up two bowls of walnuts, each with a picture of the presidential contender," the Summerville Patch reported. "Whichever bowl he ate the most nuts out of was the winner."
This left me thinking about two things. First, how come my human companions Rich and Laura never leave me two bowls side-by-side? And second, I suspect this test was far from impartial ... that certain squirrel-like qualities of Mitt made him Gnocchi's pick from the beginning.
Mitt loves to squirrel away money just like the squirrels I see on the North Cambridge bike path stash away acorns for winter. The squirrels want to keep their nuts in a safe hiding place, and so does Mitt with his moolah ... away from the prying eyes of the IRS, the media and the American public. I don't think a squirrel would go so far as to hide their stash in the Cayman Islands, but you never know.
The other squirrelly behavior Mitt displays is taunting from the treetops. Squirrels do this on the bike path every day. A juicy gray morsel notices me ... he darts up a tree as Rich applies some gentle pressure on my leash ... and the squirrel chatters some choice words from safely atop a branch as I can only watch powerless on the ground.
Well, Mitt has had three televised opportunities to tell us just how he would have done a better job than Barack as president. In debate No. 3 Monday night, Mitt said, "it’s essential for a president to show strength from the very beginning to make it very clear what is acceptable and not acceptable." Yet four years ago, it was Mitt's own Republican primary voters who deemed him unacceptable, preferring John McCain. If he was unacceptable just before the economy collapsed, what does that make him now?
Decision time is near, and I hope voters won't let the sneaky influence of a squirrel weigh their presidential pick.
Daisy is a West Highland white terrier living in Cambridge, Mass. She hopes to catch a squirrel on the bike path someday.
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