Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Fala: Through The Lens Of Zarefsky’S Fourth Distinction, Oliver Vettoretti

Arts & Sciences Student Symposium

Attention to public image is an ongoing responsibility for a President in a free society, by virtue of the fact that public opinion and favorability influence voting inclinations. Power influences, legislatively and symbolically, and the way it is wielded defines each President. Fala served as a figurative sponge that absorbed criticism against Roosevelt and wiped it away. Although public opinion regarding Roosevelt’s politics was often very divided, Fala provided a positive distraction that shifted the public’s focus away from Roosevelt’s disability and served as a humanizing figure for adults and children alike to adore.