History
Background
The competition was inspired by a political gaffe made by Hillary Clinton in 1992 during her husband Bill Clinton's presidential campaign. In response to questions about her career and the Whitewater controversy, [1] she stated that "I suppose I could have stayed home and baked cookies and had teas, but what I decided to do was to fulfill my profession, which I entered before my husband was in public life". [2] These remarks were controversial, and were perceived by some as a slight on housewives. [3] Time received numerous letters from women who were offended by Clinton's comments. [4]
Hillary Clinton's role in her husband's presidential campaign differed from that of Barbara Bush, wife of Republican candidate George H. W. Bush. While Bush played a more traditional role as First Lady, Clinton emphasized the fact that she would play a major role in policy and political decision-making in her husband's administration if he were elected. Clinton's remarks surrounding her career and attitude towards traditional gender roles were the subject of sustained controversy. Publications like The New York Times , Los Angeles Times , and The American Prospect suggested that the public debate over Clinton's remarks stemmed from anxiety over the impact of feminism in American society. [5]
Seeking to capitalize on the controversy, the magazine Family Circle came up with the idea of a cooking contest between the wives of presidential candidates. [6] The competition gave potential First Ladies the opportunity to publish cookie recipes in the magazine, which its subscribers would then bake and vote for their favorites. [7]
1992 competition
Clinton and Bush both took part in the competition, but Margot Perot, wife of independent candidate Ross Perot, declined to participate. [8] Clinton reportedly took the competition seriously and enlisted friends to help her with baking, [9] as a way to recover from the gaffe and make herself appear more traditional. [10]
The winning recipes were announced in October, ahead of the presidential election. [11] Clinton won the competition against her opponent Barbara Bush. Bush later wrote that her recipe had been borrowed from a housemate. [12]
According to media science professor Tammy R. Vigil, media coverage of the bake-off portrayed the women participating as adhering to traditional gender roles and published anecdotes about their domestic lives that contributed to this image. This coverage focused on stories about Clinton and Bush developing recipes and baking with their families, and accounts of people testing the recipes at home. [8]
1996 competition
Clinton competed against Elizabeth Dole, wife of Bob Dole, in the 1996 US presidential election. [13] During the competition, some publications noted that Clinton's chocolate chip cookie recipe had several advantages over Dole's pecan roll cookie recipe, including a shorter preparation time and healthier ingredients. [14] [15] Clinton ultimately won the competition. [12]
2004 competition
During the 2004 US Presidential election, the competition was held between Laura Bush, wife of George W. Bush, and Teresa Heinz, wife of John Kerry. Bush's cowboy cookies beat Kerry's pumpkin spice cookies. Kerry told NPR and The New York Times that she disapproved of the pumpkin spice recipe and suspected one of her staff of purposely sabotaging her by submitting an unappealing recipe. [16] She further stated that she did not like pumpkin cookies and had never made them before. [17] Kerry's office claimed that they had originally submitted a recipe called "Yummy Wonders" which was rejected by Family Circle, and one of her staffers submitted pumpkin spice cookies as a replacement without consulting her. Kerry's press secretary Marla Romash corroborated her statements, saying that "If you tasted those [pumpkin] cookies, you'd think someone was trying to do you harm, too." [17]
2008 competition
In the 2008 US presidential election, the competition was held between Cindy McCain, wife of vice president John McCain, and Michelle Obama, wife of Barack Obama. McCain's Oatmeal-Butterscotch cookies beat Obama's shortbread cookies. [18] However, McCain was accused of plagiarizing her recipe from a packaging for Hershey's. [19] [20] This marked the first time in the contest's history that the results differed from the presidential election, as John McCain lost to Barack Obama. [21]
2012 competition
During the 2012 US presidental election, Michelle Obama's white and dark chocolate chip cookies beat the M&M cookies submitted by Ann Romney, wife of presidential candidate Mitt Romney. [20] Obama's recipe contained white chocolate, dark chocolate, mint chocolate, and walnuts, and was described by Obama as a "splurge" dessert. [22] USA Today observed that the recipe included significant amounts of chocolate, butter, and Crisco, which it described as being a departure to her overall focus on healthy eating. [23]
2016 competition
The competition was renamed the "Presidential Cookie Poll" during the 2016 US presidential election, when Hillary Clinton was the Democratic presidential nominee against Donald Trump and her husband Bill was in the running for First Gentleman. [24] Bill Clinton submitted the same chocolate chip cookie recipe as Hillary had in previous years, [25] under the name "The Clinton Family's Chocolate Chip Cookies". [26] His decision to repeat his wife's recipe was criticized by The Atlantic , [27] although he won the competition. [24]
2020 cancelation
The bake-off was canceled in 2020, after Family Circle went out of business in 2019, [28] meaning that Jill Biden and Melania Trump did not compete against each other during the 2020 US presidential election. [24]