Wag the dog is, as a political term, the act of creating a diversion from a damaging issue usually through military force. It stems from the generic use of the term to mean a small and seemingly unimportant entity (the tail) controls a bigger, more important one (the dog). It is usually used by a politician when they are in a scandal, in hopes that people forget about the scandal and focus on the more important issue. The phrase originates in the saying "a dog is smarter than its tail, but if the tail were smarter, then it would wag the dog."[1] The concept has strong intersections with many other aspects of Diversionary foreign policy, particularly the rally 'round the flag effect, as wag the dog actions tend to both distract and seek to bolster support through these actions.
The earliest usage of the phrase in politics found in print is in an article originating in 1871, discussing one Democratic convention. In the article, the author references the popular play Our American Cousin, which Abraham Lincoln was watching six years earlier when he was assassinated by actor John Wilkes Booth. In the play, the character Lord Dundreary is a sympathetic character who constantly utters confused catch phrases a-la Yogi Berra, which were known at that time as Dundrearyisms:
Calling to mind Lord Dundreary's conundrum, the Baltimore American thinks that for the Cincinnati Convention to control the Democratic party would be the tail wagging the dog.[2]
The generic phrase, then and now, indicates a backwards situation in which a small and seemingly unimportant entity (the tail) controls a bigger, more important one (the dog). It was again used in the 1960s, as in the economic advice "don't let the tax tail wag the investment dog".[3]
In fictionedit
While it was first used in 1871, the term did not gain political popularity until the 1990s, with the success of the 1993 novel Wag the Dog. In it, a plan is hatched to secure President George H. W. Bush's reelection by having Hollywood produce a fake war to improve his popular approval.
In 1997, a film of the same name came out based on that novel. In the film, a sitting US president becomes embroiled in scandal weeks before he is up for re-election, and a spin doctor comes up with the scheme of hiring a Hollywood producer to fabricate military action to save his campaign.[4]
Real world usageedit
Former President Bill Clinton
Former President Donald Trump
As political polarization rose and continues to rise, the concept has been commonly referenced in the United States.
During the Monica Lewinsky scandal, President Clinton ordered missile strikes in Afghanistan and Sudan shortly after the story broke, drawing comparisons with the film and popularizing usage of the phrase.[5] During impeachment proceedings, Clinton also bombed Iraq, drawing stronger "wag the dog" allusions.[6] With the scandal still on the public's mind in March 1999, his administration launched a bombing campaign against Yugoslavia. These action drew more attention to the phrase, growing its popularity.[7]
Look up wag the dog in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
^"Wag the dog". theidioms.com. from the original on March 16, 2018. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
^"The meaning and origin of the expression: The tail wagging the dog". phrases.org.uk. from the original on April 25, 2019. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
^ ab"What Does 'Wag the Dog' Mean?". dictionary.com. from the original on May 17, 2019. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
^"Wag the Dog (1997)". IMDB. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
^Dallek, Robert (August 21, 1998). "Are Clinton's Bombs Wagging the Dog?". Los Angeles Times. from the original on December 8, 2019. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
^Saletan, William (December 20, 1998). "Wag the Doubt". Slate. from the original on December 8, 2019. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
^Sciolino, Elaine; Bronner, Ethan (April 18, 1999). "How a President, Distracted by Scandal, Entered Balkan War". The New York Times. from the original on May 12, 2019. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
^Haberkorn, Jennifer (January 3, 2020). "Wag the dog? Not yet. Democrats so far keep Trump's Iran attack out of impeachment debate". Los Angeles Times. from the original on January 4, 2020. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
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For other uses see Wag the Dog disambiguation Wag the dog is as a political term the act of creating a diversion from a damaging issue usually through military force It stems from the generic use of the term to mean a small and seemingly unimportant entity the tail controls a bigger more important one the dog It is usually used by a politician when they are in a scandal in hopes that people forget about the scandal and focus on the more important issue The phrase originates in the saying a dog is smarter than its tail but if the tail were smarter then it would wag the dog 1 The concept has strong intersections with many other aspects of Diversionary foreign policy particularly the rally round the flag effect as wag the dog actions tend to both distract and seek to bolster support through these actions Contents 1 First usage 2 In fiction 3 Real world usage 4 See also 5 ReferencesFirst usage editThe earliest usage of the phrase in politics found in print is in an article originating in 1871 discussing one Democratic convention In the article the author references the popular play Our American Cousin which Abraham Lincoln was watching six years earlier when he was assassinated by actor John Wilkes Booth In the play the character Lord Dundreary is a sympathetic character who constantly utters confused catch phrases a la Yogi Berra which were known at that time as Dundrearyisms Calling to mind Lord Dundreary s conundrum the Baltimore American thinks that for the Cincinnati Convention to control the Democratic party would be the tail wagging the dog 2 The generic phrase then and now indicates a backwards situation in which a small and seemingly unimportant entity the tail controls a bigger more important one the dog It was again used in the 1960s as in the economic advice don t let the tax tail wag the investment dog 3 In fiction editWhile it was first used in 1871 the term did not gain political popularity until the 1990s with the success of the 1993 novel Wag the Dog In it a plan is hatched to secure President George H W Bush s reelection by having Hollywood produce a fake war to improve his popular approval In 1997 a film of the same name came out based on that novel In the film a sitting US president becomes embroiled in scandal weeks before he is up for re election and a spin doctor comes up with the scheme of hiring a Hollywood producer to fabricate military action to save his campaign 4 Real world usage edit nbsp Former President Bill Clinton nbsp Former President Donald Trump As political polarization rose and continues to rise the concept has been commonly referenced in the United States During the Monica Lewinsky scandal President Clinton ordered missile strikes in Afghanistan and Sudan shortly after the story broke drawing comparisons with the film and popularizing usage of the phrase 5 During impeachment proceedings Clinton also bombed Iraq drawing stronger wag the dog allusions 6 With the scandal still on the public s mind in March 1999 his administration launched a bombing campaign against Yugoslavia These action drew more attention to the phrase growing its popularity 7 It has been used multiple times for former President Donald Trump First in April 2017 when he conducted airstrikes against Syria during an investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections 3 and again in January 2020 after a U S airstrike assassination of Iran s General Qasem Soleimani occurred during first impeachment trials of former President Trump 8 See also editDiversionary foreign policy Cart before the horse Dead cat strategy Rally round the flag effectReferences edit nbsp Look up wag the dog in Wiktionary the free dictionary Wag the dog theidioms com Archived from the original on March 16 2018 Retrieved January 5 2020 The meaning and origin of the expression The tail wagging the dog phrases org uk Archived from the original on April 25 2019 Retrieved January 5 2020 a b What Does Wag the Dog Mean dictionary com Archived from the original on May 17 2019 Retrieved January 5 2020 Wag the Dog 1997 IMDB Retrieved August 16 2022 Dallek Robert August 21 1998 Are Clinton s Bombs Wagging the Dog Los Angeles Times Archived from the original on December 8 2019 Retrieved January 5 2020 Saletan William December 20 1998 Wag the Doubt Slate Archived from the original on December 8 2019 Retrieved January 5 2020 Sciolino Elaine Bronner Ethan April 18 1999 How a President Distracted by Scandal Entered Balkan War The New York Times Archived from the original on May 12 2019 Retrieved January 5 2020 Haberkorn Jennifer January 3 2020 Wag the dog Not yet Democrats so far keep Trump s Iran attack out of impeachment debate Los Angeles Times Archived from the original on January 4 2020 Retrieved January 5 2020 nbsp This article about politics is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Wag the dog amp oldid 1213669160, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
