NATO CONFERENCE, STRASBOURG- The subject came up again –how cute– when President Obama took questions from European students in Strasbourg, about whether the White House has gotten its dog. Obama’s answer was still “not yet,” sidestepping more substantive topics. Let’s play into Obama’s sleight of hand for a moment because there is something telling about this dog-less pony show. Everyone thought it was our sky-high expectations which made Obama appear stuck at the gate. We count the days for his administration to do this, and undo that, meanwhile Barack Obama can’t even buy a dog.

It takes only bipartisanship of the domestic variety to establish whether a household can handle a pet, and once the decision is made, who can’t go buy a dog before lunch?

Obama wants a year to close Guantanamo, more to get out of Iraq. He’s on a negative schedule with Afghanistan. Ditto with righting his predecessor’s unconstitutional acts. Despite a landslide election and his party’s majority in both House and Senate, Obama’s insistence on consensus with his Republican adversaries stands in the way of passing anything, as long as the American public accepts that excuse.

What is Obama’s excuse for not having found a dog, except that keeping the issue up in the air means it remains a convenient doe-eyed diversion? Since his announcement in Grant Park, that his daughters could get a dog, Obama has been able to soften his media appearances with the kitschy sideshow.