“A Symbol of His Warmth and Humanity”: Fala, Roosevelt, and the Personable Presidency

Rhetoric & Public Affairs Jun 2016

“A Symbol of His Warmth and Humanity”: Fala, Roosevelt, and the Personable Presidency

Bryan Blankfield

Abstract

Abstract 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.

Journal: Rhetoric & Public Affairs
Published: 2016-06-01
DOI: 10.14321/rhetpublaffa.19.2.0209
Open Access: Closed
Topics: multimodality

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (1)

Blankfield (2017)

Political Animals:<i>Prosopopoeia</i>in the 1944 Presidential Election

Rhetoric Society Quarterly

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