I'm also not involved in US politics, but in regard to the dog thing, as abhorrent as it might seem to many of us in this part of the world, in other parts of the world people are starving to death and cannot afford the luxury of "pets" like we can here. Most of us cannot imagine the poverty and hunger that exists for so many...whatever can possibly provide sustenance is seen as "manna from heaven" for an impoverished parent trying to feed a hungry child. We have to be careful not to dictate that our cultural norms (which to some must seem very wasteful) are the only "right" way to live, by doing so we quite literally would be sentencing people to death-by-starvation.

However, in the context of us here and now in this very rich society of ours, any blatant cruelty to animals or humans has to be addressed and questioned. There is unfortunately some truth to the premise that a leopard cannot change its spots...while I believe in mercy and that people CAN change, I would probably always be suspicious of anyone who had previously exhibited blatant sadistic behaviour, because just because someone CAN change doesn't unfortunately mean that they HAVE changed. Sadistic characteristics (specifically the thrill and pleasure that sadists get from inflicting pain on others) are IMO particularly difficult to change. They might evolve to the point where they can hide or disguise it better, but it's hard to believe that it's not still there, subtly leaking out from underneath seemingly innocent words and behaviours.