Cable news is infuriating in its tendency to tantalize and tease viewers by hinting at a juicy story right before a commercial break, tugging viewers along. Today, MSNBC may have broken a record for how long you tease a story before you finally get to it.

9:20AM: Are Sasha and Malia Obama shirking their responsibility with the dog? MSNBC is the place for dogs .. oh, yeah, and politics.

9:25AM: The first family’s new dog is the topic of another new children’s book called Now Hiring: White House Dog, a collaboration with a pair from Chicago. They say they’re now working on more children’s books, all with similar inside the white house themes. coming up later are the obama girls shirking their responsibilities to Bo? Hmm, a new report from People magazine. Are they walking that dog every morning?

11:51AM: The president says his two daughters begged him for a new dog, but now People magazine reports that Sasha and Malia, they might be slacking off on puppy duty. “For everyone who has a child asking for a puppy, you have to want the dog as much as the kids do,” Michelle Obama said. She added that she loves her Bo.

Two-and-a-half hours! Grrr!!!

Also, here’s more recycled reporting from People, for a fuller story on Michelle and the dog.