Pit Bull Politics

We know that Sarah Palin likes to project herself as a plain-speaking, no-nonsense, no-bullshit kind of a woman. But - as Boris Johnson knows only too well - plain speaking can be a dangerous thing in politics.

Remember Palin's best line from the other night:

I love those hockey moms. You know, they say the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick.

It was off the cuff, we're told: an unscripted response to the loud cheer that greeted her repeat of her now legendary phrase of self-definition. It went down a storm in St Paul Minnesota. It's unlikely to have gone down quite so well in Alaska, though, where three weeks ago a six year old girl died after being savaged by the family's pit-bull terrier. Her father, who was serving in Iraq, returned home just in time to witness Isis Krieger's life support being turned off. As Anchorage Daily News reported, another child was bitten, though not fatally, in the same week.


As the Mudflats blog comments, Alaska is the sort of place where not much happens, so it's unlikely that Sarah Palin was unaware of this tragic story. Equally, it's hard to imagine a British politician, under any circumstances, comparing themselves to a notoriously unpredictable breed of dog responsible for a high proportion of fatal attacks on people. But then there are no real controls on pit bulls in Alaska. ADN even quoted an animal control officer as saying that "Pit bulls can make wonderful pets" and that "They're no more likely to bite than many other dogs".

The trouble, though, is that apparently house-trained pit bulls can turn at any moment and go wild, attacking even those closest to them. They were bred that way. In this country, they are subject to the Dangerous Dogs Act, and even where legal have to be kept muzzled and firmly on the leash at all times. Perhaps the Republican party will have to introduce similar controls on Sarah Palin.