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While I generally applaud the impulse to improve the terrible writing all over this site, I don't think these particular changes are an improvement on the clarity or elegance of the prose.
Undid revision 501016993 by North8000; Reverted good faith edits, previous wording is better: CV talk page before you add new edits
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| notes = [[File:Seamus Romney.jpg||250px]]<br>The Romneys' [[Irish setter]], Seamus
| notes = [[File:Seamus Romney.jpg||250px]]<br>The Romneys' [[Irish setter]], Seamus
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}}
During a 1983 family vacation, [[Mitt Romney]] transported his family's pet [[dog]], Seamus, in a windshield-equipped carrier on the roof of an [[automobile]] for 12 hours.<ref name="original"/><ref name="Snopes"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2007/06/romney-strapped/|title=Romney strapped dog to car roof|publisher = ABC News|author = Jennifer Parker|date = June 28, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ksdk.com/news/article/296683/28/Romney-dog-on-the-roof-story-appears-in-Gingrich-ad|title=Mitt Romney 'dog-on-the-roof' story appears in Newt Gingrich ad|publisher = [[KSDK|KSDK News]] ([[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]])|author = [[Jeanne Moos]]|date = January 13, 2012}}</ref> This incident became the subject of negative media attention and political use against Romney in both the [[United States presidential election, 2008|2008 presidential election]] and the [[United States presidential election, 2012|2012 presidential election]].
During a 1983 family vacation, [[Mitt Romney]] drove for 12 hours with his dog Seamus on top of the car in a windshield-equipped carrier. <ref name="original"/><ref name="Snopes"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2007/06/romney-strapped/|title=Romney strapped dog to car roof|publisher = ABC News|author = Jennifer Parker|date = June 28, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ksdk.com/news/article/296683/28/Romney-dog-on-the-roof-story-appears-in-Gingrich-ad|title=Mitt Romney 'dog-on-the-roof' story appears in Newt Gingrich ad|publisher = [[KSDK|KSDK News]] ([[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]])|author = [[Jeanne Moos]]|date = January 13, 2012}}</ref> This incident became the subject of negative media attention and political attacks from both sides against Romney in both the [[United States presidential election, 2008|2008 presidential election]] and the [[United States presidential election, 2012|2012 presidential election]].


==Road trip==
==Road trip==

Revision as of 16:43, 12 July 2012

Event
DateJune 1983
LocationRomneys' station wagon enroute from Belmont, Massachusetts to Beach O'Pines, Ontario
First reporterReported by Neil Swidey in The Boston Globe, June 2007[1]
ParticipantsMitt Romney, his wife Ann Romney, their children, and their pet dog Seamus


The Romneys' Irish setter, Seamus

During a 1983 family vacation, Mitt Romney drove for 12 hours with his dog Seamus on top of the car in a windshield-equipped carrier. [1][2][3][4] This incident became the subject of negative media attention and political attacks from both sides against Romney in both the 2008 presidential election and the 2012 presidential election.

Road trip

In June 1983, Romney and his family drove from their Belmont, Massachusetts home to a family cottage in Beach O'Pines, Ontario, for their annual vacation. Seamus rode on the roof of the family's Chevrolet Caprice station wagon, in a carrier which Romney had equipped with a windshield in order to make the ride more comfortable for Seamus.[1] Sometime during the 650-mile trip from Massachusetts to Ontario, the dog became afflicted with diarrhea, causing excrement to flow down the windows of the car. Romney stopped at a gas station to wash Seamus, the carrier and the car, then put Seamus back in his carrier, and continued the 12-hour trip to the family's vacation home.[1][2] Ann Romney, Mitt Romney's wife, stated that Seamus got diarrhea from eating turkey off the table before the trip, and that the dog loved the crate.[5][6]

Seamus, the Romneys' Irish setter

Seamus (/[invalid input: 'icon']ˈʃeɪməs/ SHAY-muss), an Irish setter, was an active, outgoing dog, and was the Romney family's first pet dog.[7] It is generally reported that, a few years after his ride to Canada, Seamus was given to Mitt Romney's sister, Jane Romney Robinson of California, who said, "He kept ending up at the pound. They were worried about him getting hit crossing the street. We had more space, so he could roam more freely."[8] The dog's date of death is unknown, but Robinson stated that Seamus lived on her farm until a "ripe old age."[9]

Commentary and analysis

According to Russell Cummings, a professor of aerospace engineering at California Polytechnic State University, Seamus could have had around three pounds (ten pounds per square foot) of air pressure pressing against his head during the trip.[10] The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals declined to comment on the legality of Romney's actions, but noted that it is illegal in Massachusetts to transport a dog "in a way that endangers it." Ingrid Newkirk, the president of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) labeled the incident as animal cruelty and torture.[11]

During the 2012 U.S. Republican presidential primaries, candidate Newt Gingrich aired an anti-Romney attack ad that featured the story.[12][13] During an appearance on the ABC show This Week, Republican candidate Rick Santorum stated, "As far as Seamus the dog ... the issues of character are important in this election. We need to look at all those issues and make a determination as to whether that’s the kind of person [Romney] you want to be president of the United States.”[14] During a 2012 interview with Chris Wallace of Fox News, Romney stated that Seamus enjoyed being in the dog carrier, an "air-tight kennel", and that he was not aware of any violations of Massachusetts law.[15] Ann Romney said that the news media had exaggerated the severity of the incident, and compared traveling in the roof-top dog carrier to riding a motorcycle or riding in the bed of a pickup truck.[7]

Mark Halperin, the senior political analyst for Time magazine and MSNBC, opined that "for a lot of voters" the incident was "a serious issue".[16] Scott Crider, owner of the website Dogs Against Romney, said that the incident had "struck a chord" because people "look at their own pet and say, ‘This is a member of my family. How can you even think about putting it on top of a car?’"[17] Conversely, journalist Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post defended Mitt Romney's treatment of Seamus, stating, "Doesn’t the fact that Romney chose to bring the dog on the family vacation, rather than dump him in a kennel back home, suggest that he’s a dog lover, not a hater?"[18] Neil Swidey, the Boston Globe journalist who wrote the initial article about Romney's 1983 road trip, stated, "[Seamus] always struck me as a valuable window into how Romney operates. In everything the guy does, he functions on logic, not emotion."[19]

According to Snopes, the incident has been "pointed to as an example of Romney's emotion-free crisis management style. Others viewed it differently, regarding the mode of canine transport the dog was subjected to as unnecessarily callous and cruel."[2] A Public Policy Polling (PPP) survey found that 74% of Democrats, 66% of Independents, and 63% of Republicans consider it inhumane to put a family dog in a kennel on the roof of a car. The poll also found that 35% of voters would be less likely to vote for Romney because of the Seamus incident, whereas 55% of voters said that it would not affect how they vote.[20] Two super PACs, 'Mitt is Mean - The Animal Lovers Against Romney Committee' and 'DogPAC', have been formed with the intent of publicizing the Seamus incident.[21][22]

As of May 2012, New York Times columnist Gail Collins had mentioned the car trip more than 61 times.[23][24] During an April 2012 interview with ABC News, Diane Sawyer asked Mitt Romney about the Seamus story and if he would ever do it again. Romney replied, "Certainly not with the attention it's received", after which Sawyer stated, "You said it was the most wounding thing in the campaign so far", though it is ambiguous as to whether Romney agreed with this statement.

  • Bruce Kluger and David Slavin; illustrated by Colleen Clapp. Dog on the Roof!. ISBN 978-1451698886. {{cite book}}: |format= requires |url= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)[25][26]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Neil Swidey and Stephanie Ebbert (June 27, 2007). "Journeys of a shared life". Boston Globe.
  2. ^ a b c Barbara & David Mikkelson (January 21, 2008). "Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney transported a dog atop his car". Snopes.
  3. ^ Jennifer Parker (June 28, 2007). "Romney strapped dog to car roof". ABC News.
  4. ^ Jeanne Moos (January 13, 2012). "Mitt Romney 'dog-on-the-roof' story appears in Newt Gingrich ad". KSDK News (St. Louis).
  5. ^ Russell Goldman & Emily Friedman (April 16, 2012). "Dog Seamus 'loved' trips atop family car, Says Ann Romney". ABC News.
  6. ^ Morgan Little (April 17, 2012). "Mitt, Ann Romney defend putting dog on car roof; fallout continues". Los Angeles Times.
  7. ^ a b Ann Romney (June 30, 2007). "From Ann Romney". Mitt Romney - Road to the White House.
  8. ^ Neil Swidey (July 10, 2007). "Introducing Seamus Romney, 'Mr. Personality'". Boston Globe.
  9. ^ Julie Jacobson (February 3, 2012). "Tale of pooch on car roof dogs Romney". Winnipeg Free Press.
  10. ^ Blair Soden (June 29, 2007). "Dog on roof? What was it like for Romney's pooch?". ABC News.
  11. ^ Ana Marie Cox (June 27, 2007). "Romney's cruel canine vacation". Time Magazine.
  12. ^ James Oliphant (January 12, 2012). "New anti-Romney ad by Gingrich goes to the dog". Los Angeles Times.
  13. ^ Kasie Hunt (January 14, 2012). "Attacks on Romney getting personal". Associated Press.
  14. ^ Amy Bingham (March 19, 2012). "Santorum team doggedly resurrects Romney's Seamus tale". ABC News.
  15. ^ Sue Kottwitz (January 8, 2012). "Dog politics: Mitt Romney, Seamus & the now infamous vacation". Zimbio.
  16. ^ Mark Halperin (January 15, 2012). "Newt: Seamus story paints a 'picture' of Mitt". Time Magazine.
  17. ^ Jerry Kronenberg (January 17, 2012). "Canine support goes to the dogs". Boston Herald.
  18. ^ Ruth Marcus (March 15, 2012). "Doggone it, stop hounding Romney". Washington Post.
  19. ^ Neil Swidey (January 8, 2012). "What our fascination with Mitt Romney's dog Seamus says about our culture". Boston Globe.
  20. ^ Tom Jensen (March 20, 2012). "Polling on Romney's 'dog problem'". Public Policy Polling.
  21. ^ Morgan Little (March 29, 2012). "Animal lovers' anti-Romney 'super PAC' aims to publicize dog tale". Los Angeles Times.
  22. ^ Julianna Goldman (April 12, 2012). "Campaign going to dogs as PACs fix on Romney pet's ride". Bloomberg News.
  23. ^ Philip Rucker (March 14, 2012). "Mitt Romney's dog-on-the-car-roof story still proves to be his critics' best friend". Washington Post.
  24. ^ Matthew Aldrich (May 13, 2012). "Complete list of every time Gail Collins has mentioned the Seamus incident". String & Sealing Wax.
  25. ^ Meenal Vamburkar (May 15, 2012). "Dog On The Roof!: New book offers Seamus' account of riding on Romney's roof". Mediaite.
  26. ^ Amy Bingham (May 16, 2012). "Seamus the immortal: Romney's dog on the roof story is getting a book tour". ABC News.
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