Is New White House Pup a Dem?

CONCORD, N.H. – Miss Beazley (search), the White House's new cuddly puppy, is named after a character in a children's book. But here's the dirty scoop: The author of that book was Democrat.

"I'm not sure my father would be rolling over in his grave," said Tim Butterworth, the son of the late author Oliver Butterworth (search). "But he'd probably be smiling quite a bit, because he liked irony."

Miss Beazley is a Scottish terrier puppy the president gave first lady Laura Bush (search) last week for her birthday. The first lady and twins Barbara and Jenna named the pup, who was born Oct. 28. She is due to arrive just before Christmas and join current first dog, Barney.

Butterworth's book, "The Enormous Egg," was published in 1956, written in response to McCarthy era civil-rights abuses. Its main character is the dinosaur Uncle Beazley, a triceratops who survives a senator's efforts to have him exterminated for being too out of place.

Butterworth, a Democrat, died in 1990 at age 75.

"I think my father was a member of the Enlightenment and would have a great deal of difficulty with the current situation," Tim Butterworth said of President Bush's re-election.

Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for Laura Bush, said the dog had nothing to do with politics. "She is going to be very focused on life on the south lawn," he said.

Oliver Butterworth's widow, Miriam Butterworth, 86, also is a Democrat and lives in West Hartford, Conn. She was a delegate to the party's 1968 national convention in Chicago.

The Butterworth family prepared a letter Wednesday to send to the White House. It doesn't overtly criticize the president, but instead takes a defiant, humorous tone.

It reminds everyone that Uncle Beazley is not the type of dinosaur to "bother other creatures." But it also calls him "big and solid," with "four sturdy legs," and "not the kind of dinosaur that could be easily pushed around."

A statue of Uncle Beazley stands in the national zoo in Washington, D.C. Miriam Butterworth said she was proud of the monument and didn't object to the Bush family dog's new name.

"I'm delighted," she said. "I'm not unhappy. I just hope she'll be a reminder of what her namesake stood for."