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Jun. 15th, 2012 09:59Thursday June 14, 2012. "Unleashing Presidential Power: The Politics of Pets in the White House
Forrest Maltzman, James H. Lebovica, Elizabeth N. Saunders and Emma Furth
"...In an(apparently unauthorized)autobiography, for instance, Socks the cat (a key figure in the Clinton administration) claims to have “dabble[d] in foreign policy,” stepping on the phone to force Clinton to hang up on a foreign leader (Socks 1993)....Indeed, some political pets have developed reputations as fixers. In his memoir, senator Ted Kennedy's dog Splash—a Portuguese water dog—recalls barking at a strategic moment in a conference committee meeting, inducing a legislative compromise, rather than letting Kennedy's side roll over (Splash 2006).3 He is also alleged to have used his family connections to get Bo—a distant relative—his position in the White House."
"We admit that First Pet accounts can be methodologically problematic. Scholars must take exceptional care in drawing inferences from memoirs. One important concern is partisan bias—pets may simply parrot the party line. Indeed, some First Pets were battle-hardened campaign veterans: George H.W. Bush's dog, C. Fred Bush (1984, 44), for instance, recalls in his memoir that he sat in on all the campaign meetings during the summer of 1979, as Bush geared up for a 1980 run. Like any good candidate, C. Fred had burnished his foreign policy credentials with a stint in China during the Ford administration. Other pets are rabid partisans. Millie, no Blue Dog Democrat, attended a Republican “pet fete” with many other Republican dogs; Millie (1990, 22) reports that her efforts “made me feel that I was giving my all for George.” First Pet accounts raise other concerns that could threaten causal inference: presidential pets keep shoddy records, recount details with odd selectivity, and respond to events with inappropriate exuberance. They are also prone to self-aggrandizement: many appear to have shopped their manuscripts while still in the White House."
http://tinyurl.com/7xfwyj4
Politico.com reported this with a straight face: http://tinyurl.com/7xv38sy Most of the commenters took it entirely seriously.
Forrest Maltzman, James H. Lebovica, Elizabeth N. Saunders and Emma Furth
"...In an(apparently unauthorized)autobiography, for instance, Socks the cat (a key figure in the Clinton administration) claims to have “dabble[d] in foreign policy,” stepping on the phone to force Clinton to hang up on a foreign leader (Socks 1993)....Indeed, some political pets have developed reputations as fixers. In his memoir, senator Ted Kennedy's dog Splash—a Portuguese water dog—recalls barking at a strategic moment in a conference committee meeting, inducing a legislative compromise, rather than letting Kennedy's side roll over (Splash 2006).3 He is also alleged to have used his family connections to get Bo—a distant relative—his position in the White House."
"We admit that First Pet accounts can be methodologically problematic. Scholars must take exceptional care in drawing inferences from memoirs. One important concern is partisan bias—pets may simply parrot the party line. Indeed, some First Pets were battle-hardened campaign veterans: George H.W. Bush's dog, C. Fred Bush (1984, 44), for instance, recalls in his memoir that he sat in on all the campaign meetings during the summer of 1979, as Bush geared up for a 1980 run. Like any good candidate, C. Fred had burnished his foreign policy credentials with a stint in China during the Ford administration. Other pets are rabid partisans. Millie, no Blue Dog Democrat, attended a Republican “pet fete” with many other Republican dogs; Millie (1990, 22) reports that her efforts “made me feel that I was giving my all for George.” First Pet accounts raise other concerns that could threaten causal inference: presidential pets keep shoddy records, recount details with odd selectivity, and respond to events with inappropriate exuberance. They are also prone to self-aggrandizement: many appear to have shopped their manuscripts while still in the White House."
http://tinyurl.com/7xfwyj4
Politico.com reported this with a straight face: http://tinyurl.com/7xv38sy Most of the commenters took it entirely seriously.