World Leaders, Doggies and Doritos

A few weeks ago, I saw a television bit about the President and his relationship with the First Dog, Barney. The President was warm and funny, following the dog around and joking about his refusal to play with his toys for the camera. [For more, check out the cheesy but cute Barney Cam.] For a moment during that interview, while he was bashfully admitting to kissing Barney on the lips and suspiciously not admitting that he speaks to Barney in baby-talk, the President did not seem like a world leader or a right-winger or an Evangelical or a Commander-in-Chief. He just seemed like a guy that really likes his dog. And at that moment, I liked him very much.

Today I read this article about Saddam Hussein’s actions while in captivity. According to military personnel who guarded the fallen leader, Saddam dished out fatherly advice about women, smiled and laughed frequently, disinfected his belongings obsessively, and could finish a family-size bag of Doritos in ten minutes.

Of course, he is quoted as saying some questionable things. He told one guard to find a woman that was “not too smart, not too dumb. Not too old, not too young. One that can cook and clean.” He also compared himself to Jesus and insists that he is still the President of Iraq.

Regardless of these specific quotes, the overall effect of the article for me was to be able to see that despite being a dictator, an oppressor, a Sunni, an Enemy, and a member of the “Axis of Evil,” deep down Saddam is a real person like us who needs a daily junk-food fix and cracks jokes to pass the time. His policies as a leader were oppressive and cruel by every measure. But yet, the guards around him actually described him as likeable, according to this article.

Perhaps there is a difference between a man and his politics. Maybe this Red v. Blue nation needs to be reminded of that fact every now and then. If we could debate and attack policies, not people, perhaps we would not be so divided.