Each December, blizzard or not, the White House is transformed into a holiday wonderland through the miracles of greenery, gingerbread and the dedication of staff elves. And each year, the profusion of ornaments, choice of colour and official theme reveals something about the woman in charge.This year the decor provides essential clues to the enigma that is Laura Bush. In her second Christmas at the White House, she has transformed not only the State Rooms but her own image. Last year’s Texas Snow Queen has become the Nation’s Nurturing Mom. On Thursday Laura Bush wore a red suit to introduce her holiday theme, ‘‘All Creatures Great and Small.’’A charming papier-mache menagerie of 25 presidential pets has been loosed on the antique pier tables throughout the house. ‘‘Every president has had animals,’’ the first lady said, adding that ‘‘really what the Christmas theme symbolises is the majesty of creation.’’ The choice of pets was guided, she said, by the placement of presidential portraits. Lyndon Johnson’s beagles — Him and Her — sit incongruously beneath Mamie Eisenhower’s gaze, but ’tis not the season to quibble. Against a backdrop of weapons inspections and the spectre of war with Iraq, remembering sweet pets seems like a stroke of genius. Many presidents have followed the advice of Harry Truman, who once admonished, ‘‘If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.’’ Models of Barney and Spotty, as well as Bush cat Willie, get prime display near a portrait of George Herbert Walker Bush. Caroline Kennedy’s white pup, Pushinka, a gift from Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, is poised with pink tongue hanging out on a table beneath Gerald Ford. But the executive mansion has also been home to more exotic creatures. — LATWP
