By Yul
George Bush blew a golden chance to show solidarity with Pope Benedict XVI. All he had to do was invite the pope to crawl under one of the White House beds to meet India, the family cat.
India’s the only member of the Bush family who would appeal to the pope. She might have even persuaded the pontiff to grant absolution to Laura for trying to upstage him with that white suit she wore (a no-no in papal etiquette) the day he wore white vestments himself to greet the crowd on the White House lawn.
If Laura had any sense, she’d at least have left the suit out on the bed that morning to give India a chance to cover it with black cat hair. The pope would have appreciated that.
But India was nowhere to be found in any reports of the pope’s White House visit. Only that publicity hound Barney, or his cohort Miss Beazley, seemed to be under foot. India apparently stuck to the no-show policy she’s followed during the entire Bush administration.
I did learn a few trivia tidbits about the elusive First Cat from her sparse Web page:
India likes to hide from her owners. No surprise there. Who needs guilt by association?
She also like tuna-flavored cat treats. Who doesn’t?
India’s nickname is “Willie” because the Bushes named her after the former Texas Ranger baseball player, Ruben Sierra, who was called “El Indio.” I’m not getting the Willie connection from that. Maybe Willie is “Ruben” in Spanish?