Dog? or Underdog?

I keep coming back to Obama's claim to be the "underdog" in 2012. Now that goes against nearly everything I had come to think of as traditionally denoting an "underdog". So, let's play a little game: "Dog" or "Underdog"?

The dictionary calls an underdog

"a person who is expected to lose".

Advantage Obama. Underdog 1, Dog 0.

"person in adversity or in a position of inferiority"

Hmm. Given the overwhelming advantage that the power of the incumbency gives to the re-election of politicians, the only way an incumbent could be "inferior" is if his candidacy was a real dog.

Advantage Dog. Underdog 1, Dog 1.

From the Urban Dictionary,

"Someone who is hardly noticed. Kind of the opposite of popular or the best, but not exactly the worst."

Someone who is hardly noticed?? As in, "historic first black president unnoticed" or "let me give a speech in Berlin unnoticed"?



Not an "underdog". Advantage Dog. Underdog 1, Dog 2.

In politics, I had always believed that the person with the least amount of name recognition was considered the underdog. Is there anyone on the planet who is not familiar with the name Barack Hussein Obama?

Advantage Dog. Underdog 1, Dog 3.

I suppose we could keep this up all night, but traditionally, the underdog is the newcomer to politics who doesn't have much of a track record to run on. Barack Obama finally has a record and is running away from it, full tilt. The first two years of his presidency was accompanied by his party's control of both houses of Congress. They had carte blanche to do whatever they wanted, to enact whatever legislation, pass whatever budget they wanted, to fund whatever programs they wanted, and to make whatever cuts they deemed necessary to keep America's fiscal house in order. Instead they wasted billions of dollars on programs that benefited special interests and their political donors rather than invest in infrastructure, like they promised, or proven and realistic energy programs or anything that could conceivably create jobs outside of unions and government unions.

Advantage Dog. Underdog 1, Dog 4.

"Dog" or "underdog"? The numbers don't lie. Look for Barack to be sporting a flea collar for Halloween. He could go as Bo, and his approval numbers would probably go up...



Update : Let's give the devil his due. I meant to comment on this one:

"Kind of the opposite of...the best".

That's got Obama written all over it.

Advantage Obama. Underdog 2, Dog 4.

He stills loses but maybe he beats the spread!