When there is an old maid in the house, a watchdog is unnecessary.
My dog is half pit bull, half poodle. Not much of a watchdog, but a vicious gossip!
. . . there is no more effective public interest watchdog in Washington, D. C.
If everyone has to be a watchdog in order to make government work, then the foxes will also volunteer to serve.
While I'm critical to the Bush presidency, it's been enormously beneficial for Salon because we're seen as kind of an aggressive watchdog on the Bush White House. Particularly since Florida, our readership hit a whole new level, and we held onto those readers.