Socks (cat)
| File:Socks cat 1.JPG Socks in the White House press briefing room | |
| Species | Cat |
|---|---|
| Sex | Male |
| Owner | Bill Clinton Betty Currie |
| Appearance | Black and White |
Socks (born c. March 1991) was the pet cat of Bill Clinton and the Clinton family. After the Clintons left the White House, Socks was given to Clinton's secretary, Betty Currie.
Biography
Socks was adopted by the Clintons in 1991 after he jumped into the arms of Chelsea Clinton while she was leaving the house of her piano teacher in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he was playing with his sibling, 'Midnight'. Midnight was later adopted by someone else. After Bill Clinton became President, Socks moved with the family from the governor's mansion to the White House and became the principal pet of the First Family in Clinton's first term, though he was known to share his food and water with a stray tabby, dubbed "Slippers". He was often taken to schools, hospitals, and nursing homes to take part in goodwill visits.[citation needed] During the Clinton administration, children visiting the White House website would be guided by a cartoon version of Socks.[1]
He eventually lost the position of principal Clinton pet in 1997 when the Clintons acquired Buddy, a Labrador Retriever. At this point some fans of Socks joked that Socks had been "voted out of office" of White House pet in favor of the more traditional dog.
Socks found Buddy's intrusion intolerable; according to Hillary Rodham Clinton, Socks "despised Buddy from first sight, instantly and forever." Bill Clinton said, "I did better with ... the Palestinians and the Israelis than I've done with Socks and Buddy."[2] When the Clintons left the White House in 2001 they took Buddy to their new home, but left Socks under the care of Bill Clinton's secretary, Betty Currie. Socks was only the fourth cat to occupy the White House since Franklin Roosevelt's presidency.
In October 2004 Socks made a now-rare public appearance when Currie was guest speaker at an Officers' Spouses Club luncheon at Andrews Air Force Base. Socks accompanied her and took part in a photo op. As of 2008, Socks was in good health and still living with Currie and her husband in Hollywood, Maryland, about 80 miles from Washington.[3]
Investigation
Republican Rep. Dan Burton once publicly questioned the use of White House staff, postage, and stationery to answer mail addressed to the cat.[4]
Cultural references
A cartoon book called Socks Goes to Washington: The Diary of America's First Cat, written by Michael O'Donoghue and Jean-Claude Suares, was published in 1993.[5]
Socks was a character in If..., Steve Bell's cartoon-strip in The Guardian, where he was described as the "world's most powerful cat".
Socks was featured prominently in an episode of the sitcom Murphy Brown in December 1993 entitled Sox and the Single Girl, in which Socks is inadvertently removed from the White House during a press dinner.[6][7] Also, in the April 1, 1994 edition of Larry King Live, a Muppet version of Socks was a special guest interviewed by Kermit the Frog, who was guest hosting for Larry King at the time.[8]
In 1996 Socks appeared on a series of stamps in the Central African Republic with Bill Clinton.
In Berkeley Breathed's comic strip Outland, Socks was involved in a homosexual affair with Bill the Cat. They appeared together on a talk show, along with Checkers Nixon, Rex Reagan, and Millie Bush, on the topic of "Gay Presidential Pets."
The video clip for the song Blister in the Sun by the band The Violent Femmes, made for the movie Grosse Pointe Blank depicts an obsessive fan donning a Socks costume and attempting to assassinate Socks while he was speaking in public. Socks survived the incident unscathed while the would-be assassin was apprehended.
Socks was to be the subject of a cancelled 1993 videogame entitled Socks the Cat Rocks the Hill for the Super NES and Sega Genesis platforms.[9]
The collectible wooden house series Cat's Meow Village reissued its White House piece in 1993, with a tiny version of Socks painted alongside the black cat Casper traditionally featured on the pieces.
References
- ^ The White House for Kids
- ^ "President Clinton Touts Economy While President-elect Bush Warns of Slowdown". CNN.com. January 12, 2001. Retrieved 2007-10-22.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Purr-n-Fur UK : Socks Clinton, and other presidential felines
- ^ Burton: A 'Pit Bull' in the Chair
- ^ Amazon.com: Socks Goes to Washington: The Diary of America's First Cat
- ^ "Murphy Brown": Sox and the Single Girl at TV.com
- ^ "Murphy Brown": Sox and the Single Girl (1993) at IMDb
- ^ Tough Pigs Anthology: April Frog's Day, April 2002: Part Six: Watch What You Do
- ^ Nathan Eveland, SNES Central: Socks the Cat Rocks the Hill[dead link]