New rule for political reporters: Don't try to pet the dog of a man with a 23% approval rating. That advice came too late for Reuters reporter Jon Decker, who after delivering a live report from the White House for MSNBC, spotted the first dog, Barney. The usually affable Scottish terrier, evidently fed up with the recent GOP electoral drubbings, was not in the mood to be petted, but pet Decker did. Barney, in turn, responded like dogs do, biting the reporter's finger. Decker, to his credit, reacted with no four-letter words and only three other, very discreet ones: "That's not good." The reporter's finger was treated, the offending dog was presumably scolded — and democracy endured.