It's pretty bad when the guy with the dog on the roof looks rational

Who am I to nip someone when he is down, and after losing a few more southern primaries Tuesday, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney has got to be feeling a little down. (He did get all six delegates from American Samoa, though!)

Even if he is an easy target, my fan base has been itchin’ for me to write something about Romney’s treatment of his dog. Chances are you all know what I’m talking about, but if not, here’s the story: Back in 1983, Romney took his family dog, an Irish Setter named Seamus, on a 12-hour car trip tied to the roof of his car. Romney doesn’t deny doing it. He admitted it on Fox News, tried to convince everyone that Seamus liked riding on the roof and said the dog was more comfortable up there than crammed in the car with his five spawn, er, children. (Two words, Mitt: birth control.)

In many civilized parts of the world, including Massachusetts, where Romney was governor, doing so is considered inhumane treatment of an animal.

I probably don’t need to tell you where I stand on this issue. Suffice it to say that I have my own vinyl traveling crate and favorite fleece blanket when I go mobile.

Not surprisingly, animal activists have taken up the issue and point to the event as proof that Romney is unfit to be president. I’d bark my approval to that, not that I’m comfortable imagining any of his GOP opponents sitting in the Oval Office with feet propped on the desk.

True, the man tied his dog to the roof of his car for a 12-hour trip but these other guys … I don’t know. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’d resort to tying a woman to the roof of the car to keep her from picking up her health insurance-covered contraceptives.