Humor: First Interview With Bo, The New White House Puppy
CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller takes a comical look at what an interview with the new White House puppy could look like.
Bo, the new White House puppy, stayed indoors today, since there were thousands of people on the South Lawn for the Easter Egg Roll.
He's still getting acclimated to his new home, and agreed to take a few questions in the family quarters of the White House.
Q. Let me start by asking you about your breeding, just what is a Portuguese Water Dog.
A. I'm not really sure.
Q. Well, do you like the water?
A. Not crazy about it, no.
Q. Are there American water dogs?
A. Actually, I consider myself more American than Portuguese.
Q. So how did you come to be picked by the First Family. Was there much of a vetting process?
A. Ted Kennedy had something to do with it, not really sure. But a few weeks back the Obamas came by to visit. Most puppies know the routine: look cute, jump up on your hind legs, play up to the kids and put a look in your eye that says "pick me, pick me."
Q. You are pretty cute. You look like one of those Ewoks from the Star Wars movies.
A. I get that a lot. Not much I can do about it.
Q. How do you like the White House so far?
A. On first glance, it looks like a great home. Good food, lots of attention. A big lawn out back. Haven't found any fire hydrants yet, but I'm still looking around.
Q. Did you get any advice about being the White House dog?
A. Over the weekend, I spoke to Barney, who had this job in the Bush White House. He said he loved it here and really misses the place. He also told me about some great places to hang out. He said to make friends with the chefs, they're always a soft-touch for an afternoon snack.
Q. Any other advice?
A. Yeah, he said to make sure the First Family doesn't get a second dog. He said everything changed the day Mrs. Bush brought a new puppy into the place, Miss Beazley. He said all of a sudden, Beazley got all the hugging and cuddling, especially from the Bush daughters.
Q. Barney used to spend time in the Oval Office with President Bush. Have you been there yet with President Obama.
A. Not yet. I'm not fully house-broken, so they're limiting where I can go.
Q. What do you think of the Obama daughters?
A. Cute kids. They're really excited about me. I get to sleep in their rooms.
Q. They named you Bo. How do you like it?
A. Well, I started out as Charlie. Bo is okay, just so long as they don't start calling me Bobo, Baby Bo, Bubala. You get the idea.
Q. In all the photographs of you over the weekend, you were wearing a colorful lei? What was that about?
A. Look, I'm a puppy. I can't control what people put on me to enhance my cuteness. You try taking a lei off your neck without benefit of opposable thumbs.
Q. Sorry, didn't mean to hurt your feelings.
A. No problem.
Q. You know, a few weeks before Barney left the White House, he bit a reporter's finger.
A. Are you challenging me?
Q. Not at all, but you're not so inclined are you?
A. Hey – when you're surrounded by reporters and photographers, and they're grabbing at you, someone's gonna get nipped. We're dogs, ya know.
Q. Well, thanks for speaking to me. Maybe we can do this again in a few weeks.
A. Call my press secretary. She handles me.
