Socks (cat)
| File:Socks cat 1.JPG 5 Year Old Socks the Cat peers over the podium in the Briefing Room of the White House | |
| Other name(s) | First Cat |
|---|---|
| Species | Cat |
| Sex | Male |
| Nation from | American Shorthair |
| Occupation | pet |
| Owner | Bill Clinton Betty Currie |
| Appearance | Black and White |
Socks (c. March 1989 – February 20, 2009) was the pet cat of U.S. President Bill Clinton's family during his presidency. He then resided with former Clinton secretary Betty Currie and her husband.[1][2]
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.
When 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 and hospitals. During the Clinton administration, children visiting the White House website would be guided by a cartoon version of Socks.[3]
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 he 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 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."[4] 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.
In December 2002, Socks was part of the Little Rock Christmas parade.
In October 2004, Socks made a then-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.
In June 2008, Socks was still living with Currie and her husband in Hollywood, Maryland, about 80 miles from Washington, but had a thyroid condition, hair loss, weight loss, and kidney problems.[5]
In December 2008, Socks was reported to be in failing health, apparently suffering from cancer.[6]
Socks was put down on February 20, 2009, in Hollywood, Maryland,[7] after suffering cancer of the jaw.[8] It was also estimated that Socks would have turned 20 in spring 2009, placing his birthdate in spring of 1989 rather than 1990.[9]
Investigation
Republican Representative Dan Burton once publicly questioned the use of White House staff, postage, and stationery to answer mail addressed to the cat.[10]
Cultural references
First Lady Hillary Clinton wrote a children's book called Dear Socks, Dear Buddy: Kids' Letters to the First Pets in 1998.[11] It included more than 50 letters written to the First Pets by children and more than 80 photographs of Socks and Buddy.
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.[12]
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", and as "Chief of Staff for Fish".
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.[13][14] On 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.[15]
In 1996, Socks appeared on a series of stamps in the Central African Republic with Bill Clinton.
In "Hillary Left Me For Dead," a University College, London blog entry published in 2001 and re-published by Daily Kos, Harvey the Rabbit supposedly reports for the Times Socks' interview revelations about Hillary Clinton inflicting tortures on him and ultimately shooting him.[16]
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, used in 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 canceled 1993 videogame entitled Socks the Cat Rocks the Hill for the Super NES and Sega Genesis platforms.[17]
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.
See also
References
- ^ "As Peace Process Fails, First Cat Prepares for Exile". New York Times. 2001-01-10. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
- ^ "Betty Currie". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Socks still rocks", Southern Maryland Newspapers Online, June 6, 2008.
- ^ "Clinton's Socks the Cat Near Death", U.S. News, December 12, 2008.
- ^ http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/20/socks.obit/index.html
- ^ Socks, former First Cat, dies
- ^ [1]
- ^ Burton: A 'Pit Bull' in the Chair
- ^ Clinton, Hillary, Dear Socks, Dear Buddy: Kids' Letters to the First Pets, Simon & Schuster, 1998, ISBN-10: 0684857782, ISBN-13: 9780684857787
- ^ 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
- ^ [2]
- ^ GameStats: Socks the Cat Cheats, Reviews, News
External links
