-
“A Symbol of His Warmth and Humanity”: Fala, Roosevelt, and the Personable Presidency
- Rhetoric & Public Affairs
- Michigan State University Press
- Volume 19, Number 2, Summer 2016
- pp. 209-243
- Article
- Additional Information
- Purchase/rental options available:
This article examines how rhetoric about Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Scottish terrier, Fala, contributed to the president’s public image. I argue that Fala’s presence further enhanced FDR’s more personable presidency by highlighting the president’s warmth and humanity. To demonstrate this claim, I perform a close textual analysis of archival evidence from the FDR Presidential Library and two Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer shorts. Presidential pets thus provide presidents with important sources for fashioning their public image.