Move Over, Socks: Clinton’s in Puppy Love

Figuring that more than 50 million Americans and most of his predecessors can’t be wrong, President Clinton is bringing a dog to the White House--a male Labrador retriever.

White House spokesman Eric Rubin said Saturday that it was love at first sight. The unnamed 3-month-old chocolate-colored puppy and the 50-year-old president met for the first time Friday afternoon at the White House.

President and puppy scampered around the South Lawn for half an hour before Clinton clinched the adoption.

“He met the puppy and decided he wanted to keep it,’ Rubin said. The puppy “will be trained first so there is no specific time set” for when he will join the first family.

The puppy’s arrival means that Socks, daughter Chelsea’s cat, now will have to share the billing as “first pet.”

The match was arranged by Tony Harrington, a friend of the president’s who owns the puppy.

There has not been a dog at the White House since President Bush moved out in 1993.

Although Millie became a household name, Bush was closest to one of her offspring, Ranger, who was often seen wandering unescorted down a hallway en route to the Oval Office.

When pressed as to why Clinton wanted a dog, one aide noted former President Harry S. Truman’s famous observation: “If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.”

The decision drew swift reaction from presidential canine experts, with author Roy Rowan saying “the nation likes to see a dog in the White House. Clinton has been not only depriving himself of the fun of having a pet, he’s been depriving the whole country.

“It’s very good for the nation,” said Rowan, co-author of “First Dogs, American Presidents and Their Best Friends.” He noted that “there are 54 million dog owners in the country and they really identify with a president who owns a dog.

“The Oval Office is probably one of the most pressure-ridden places in the world, and I think it’s very good for a president to have a dog--very therapeutic too.”

Nearly every president since George Washington, who owned 37 dogs, has been partial to dogs.

The fact that Clinton decided to get the dog house-trained before granting it permanent residency suggests he has learned from previous presidents’ mistakes. The last Democrat in the White House, Jimmy Carter, made it home to a mutt named Gritts. That dog did not last very long. It seems he refused to be housebroken.