Rudy Giuliani
Lull Farm, Hollis, N.H., Oct. 28, 2007

Angling for maximum media exposure just before Halloween, I've dressed Dahlia in a puffy infant pumpkin costume from Old Navy. My orange-fleece-lined baby is the first thing Rudy and Judith Giuliani see when their SUV pulls into the farm-stand parking lot. As expected, the photographers go nuts.

Rudy declares that "Dahlia is a real doll," and within seconds she starts to squirm and screech in his arms. I ask for one more photo, but Rudy's done. He's panicky. He obviously doesn't want the crying baby to become a metaphor for the world he is about to take over.

Giuliani's cynical instincts prove correct. USA Today uses Dahlia to symbolize the negative press coverage that Giuliani has attracted as the Republican front-runner. And in a story about the political leanings of police officers and firefighters, Rudy's hometown New York Post lunges after the shaky-leadership imagery. The tabloid brands my screaming daughter as "a reluctant baby in New Hampshire."