President Bush's dog Barney says 'happy holidays' in a new video

Our friends at The Times' sports blog, the Fabulous Forum, have the story on Barney the First Dog's final holiday video in office. 

How, you ask, does Barney the First Dog relate to the world of sports?  In the Barney Cam video (the last in a series that the White House has produced every year since 2002 in order to showcase its famed holiday decorations), Barney costars with some of biggest luminaries in the sports world, from swimmer Michael Phelps to gymnast Nastia Liukin.  The Washington Post describes the video:

In a trippy animated scene, Barney dreams of competing in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and sinking a winning putt -- until President Bush urges him to start decorating for Christmas.

"Barney, you had better wake up, fella," he says. "There's a lot of work to do around here. We're sprinting to the finish, not napping to the finish."

Trippy, indeed.  We're still reeling from the surreal imagery of Barney performing an elaborate gymnastics vault as a commentator shouts, "...and he sticks the landing!" 

Well, it's not too far a stretch from previous installments, which featured unlikely costars as diverse as former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson (who told Barney, "There's no easy way to say this, but we're out of money"), and beloved country star Dolly Parton.  Laura Bush and daughters Jenna and Barbara also make appearances (and we pray to all that is holy that they don't attempt professional acting careers).

The video is available at the White House website.

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photo credit: Kevin Lamarque / Reuters