This one is from the White House, in the form of a Christmas video starring the First Dog, Barney. It also stars the other White House lap animals, Miss Beazley (Not “Ms.”, thank you) a cat named Kitty, and Tony Snow.

(Or take a look here if you can’t watch the video from this page.)

OK. And you thought the Iraq conflict was mirth-free and agonizingly slow. A few other thoughts:

  • We see the President acting for the camera, the first time since the shoot for his “National Guard Proof-of-Service” glossies. And, with a straight face, he chides Barney for not giving enough “thought to the plot.” Hopefully, the dog can call on some of Bush’s dad’s friends to form an advisory panel.
  • Barney, while thinking over said “plot,” retreats to the White House library and discovers a book on “Choreography.” No doubt a dusty tome left over from the Buchanan administration.
  • Barney meets with OMB Director Rob Portman and Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson, who tells Barney, “We’re out of money.” That’s the first time any member of the Bush administration has ever said those words.
  • During the audition sequence, we are introduced to the magnetism of Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, whose complete inability to perform suggests some rather future brutal cuts to “arts” in our schools.
  • Fortunately, Karl Rove comes by to liven up the scene, putting viewers in the unfortunate position of having to say, “You know, Karl Rove’s pretty good.” By the way, during the end credits, Karl Rove is one of the few people not identified by his title. He is just “Karl Rove.” I understand that the actor Topol, when asked to list his profession on any written material/applications, etc., usually just writes, “Topol.” I guess what I’m trying to say is…Karl Rove is OUR Topol.
  • Emmitt Smith makes a cameo. Since I am not a sports fan or a Dancing with the Stars fan (a niche demo am I), I thought for a second that the Bush Administration suddenly had a new black dude. Although Smith’s brief words of advice were probably taken more seriously than any offered by Colin Powell.
  • Note that Tony Snow offers up a most “continental” HAPPY Christmas. No doubt a leftover from all those years sending off cards to Mr. Murdoch.
  • Who the hell are Gary Walters and Dale Haney? Mr. Haney’s cry of “Unbelievable” really rings true.
  • Those Marines, playing music for a dog, are the five luckiest Marines on the face of the Earth right now.
  • What has Dolly Parton done to herself?
  • After all this struggle, what does Barney finally produce? “The Nutcracker!” Seriously, “fresh ideas” seems to be an “interspecies” challenge for this family.

[NOTE: The Daily Show offers a very funny “interior monologue” for Barney:

And here’s an alternate link for the video.]