Richard Nixon and his dog Checkers.
Origin of Checker’s/Dogs in Politics Day:
In 1952, Richard M. Nixon was a candidate for Vice-President of the United States, running with Dwight D. Eisenhower. Media speculation centered around an $18,000 campaign contribution, and speculation that Nixon may have used some for his personal use. In a brilliant political maneuver, Nixon took his case to the American people.
On September 23, 1952, Richard Nixon gave a speech that directly addressed and explained the issue. He assured the public that he did not use any of the funds for personal use. Towards the end of the speech, he stated that his daughters had received a dog, which they named “Checkers”, as a gift. He said they would keep the dog.
This speech quickly became known as the “Checkers” speech, and went on to be one of the better speeches in American political history.
With “Checkers” the dog included in the speech, this day was sometimes referred to as Dogs in Politics Day.
Every year, September 23 is designated National Dogs in Politics Day, which is also known as Checker’s Day. Why Checkers? Because this day is the anniversary of a very famous pre-presidential Richard Nixon speech that introduced America to …
… The Best-Known Presidential Dog to Never Have Lived in the White House.
Although Nixon’s cocker spaniel never lived in the White House, Checkers became quite a celebrity after then-Senator Nixon mentioned the dog in a televised speech on Sept. 23, 1952.
Nixon used the new medium of TV to take his case to the people to deny any alleged misuse of $18,000 in campaign contributions.
To learn more about presidential dogs, check out the Presidential Pet Museum
