All the Presidents' Pets: The Story of One Reporter Who Refused to Roll Over » (Reprint)

Mo Rocca is a former correspondent for The Daily Show and appears frequently on NBC's Today, NPR's Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, CNN, VH1, and the Fox News Channel. He lives in New York City.

In this new edition of All the Presidents’ Pets you’ll find:

• Presidents: 42
• Poops on White House rug: 1
• References to President Chester Alan Arthur’s hip muttonchops: 1
• Press corps reporters still wearing Ugg Boots: 2
• Scenes taking place in Wolf Blitzer’s Japanese garden: 2
• Cartoon beagles packing heat: 1
• References to the Sacred Feminine: 0
• References to the Sacred Animal: 12
• Near-death escapes by Fox News’ Alan Colmes: 3
• Vulgar LBJ animal expressions: 6
• Secrets of the universe from Stephen Hawking: 1
• Body count: 57 (plus one slug pumped into Dr. Phil’s backside)
• Fox News hotties: 8
• Appearances by evangelist Pat Robertson in a tank top: 1
• Sports practiced by Condi Rice each day before 5 a.m.: 3
• Plus . . . a long-awaited debunking of the Jimmy Carter killer rabbit story!

Publishers Weekly

Geeky, factoid-loving TV comedian Rocca of The Daily Show presents a wacky satire on Washington and the media, with particular barbed attention paid to Fox News. With ironically deadpan innocence, Rocca uncovers the top-secret history of a pact between presidents and their pets, who are "bound by the indispensable `Sacred Animal' component of proper decision-making." Rocca's jibes at media and government personalities range from incisive to silly and may confuse readers not fully literate in cable network news. More universally comprehensible and funny are stories of the influence of presidential pets on their owners. The mating of Kennedy's terrier, Charlie, with Pushinka, a canine gift from Khrushchev, averted the Cuban missile crisis. Johnson's dog Him predicted the quagmire of Vietnam, although Johnson ignored the advice. Funniest of all is a 1798 town square Crossfire on the Alien and Sedition Act between Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, moderated by bulldog Toddy and sheepdog Buzzy, in which the politicians hurl personal insults at each other while the dogs do their best to maintain rational thinking and civility. The book's peculiarly postmodern blending of fact and fantasy make it hard to tell jokes from mere ironic truths. Photos. Agent, P.J. Mark. (Oct.) Forecast: Rocca could attract readers sick of election seriousness and ready for some breeziness, though many of them may gravitate to Jon Stewart's America: The Book (Forecasts, Aug. 30) instead. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.