Schieffer: Way To Go, Uno!
Weekly commentary by CBS Evening News chief Washington correspondent and Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer.
We always watch the telecast of the Westminster Dog Show, and when Uno the beagle took Best in Show, I cheered out loud. My wife cried tears of joy.
Beagles are the best dogs that ever were. I feel the same way about dogs that I do about food.
I like my food to look like food - the meat in its place on the plate, the vegetables in theirs, not all stacked up like some cutsie piece of art, and please, flowers belong in vases, not on my plate.
As for dogs, I like them to look like dogs, not some perfumed ball of fur that resembles a powder puff. You wouldn't paint a beagle's toe nails or put ribbons in their hair.
We had three beagles - Ralph, whose keen nose found the book satchel stuffed with beer that the boys hid in our garden the night of the first boy-girl party at our house. Old Ralph held his point 'til I removed it.
Then there was Dixie, who gave a light bite to the diplomat from the Chinese embassy who strolled past our house one morning. It was just after Tiananmen Square - clearly a brave act of political protest.
And there was sweet Betty, such a shy little city dog, she didn't like going outside without a leash.
It took a hundred years, but America is a better place when Beagles rule. Good dog, Uno!
By Bob Schieffer