Dachshunds in Politics: Mary Matalin and James Carville

ILLUSTRATION BY JOE CIARDIELLO FOR USN&WR

Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, whatever.....our dachshunds love us no matter what our faults and our political affiliation may be. We know that Donald Rumsfeld's dachshund 'Reggie' thinks that the sun rises and sets in his dad's eyes. (We hope that Reggie is doing OK after his recent stroke. We heard that Mr. Rumsfeld was crushed when his doxie was ill).
Political unrest couldn't be more evident than in the Matalin-Carville household where they have 5 dogs and 8 cats, including 2 dachshunds. US News & World Report had a look at the couple and their love of animals. Here's an excerpt: Matalin, the GOP adviser to both Bushes and Vice President Dick Cheney, preaches the healing powers of animals. And she doesn't have to look further than hubby James, the Clinton adviser. He tells us that following the recent death of his fave Cavalier King Charles spaniel, "I haven't been the same since. I just find it hard to transfer my affections, and I was pretty close to this one." Mary playfully calls them "frou-frou dogs with bows in their hair that just brought out a different part of him." He's getting over it now thanks to one of their two miniature dachshunds. "I like that dog," fesses Carville. "Dogs are like people . . . some dogs you just like better than others."
Read the rest at US News & World Report.

The couple and their daughters, Emma, left, and Matty, gather with their dachshunds in front of a family portrait by Victor Razgulin in their Alexandria, Virginia home. Photo Source: Architectural Digest. See more photos of their home in a nice Architectural Digest feature.