The news today carries a story discussing what breed of dog Obama will have in the White House. Has anyone else noticed the gross, continued discrimination in this area? I haven't made up a complete list, but so far as I can remember every presidential pet in my lifetime was a dog.
One could understand it in the case of Nixon, whose position in history was, arguably, due to a cocker spaniel named Checkers. But Checkers died in 1964, so never got the place he had earned in the White House save perhaps as an occasional visitor. But what did a dog do for Obama? What did Fala do for FDR or Millie or Spot for Bush's I and II?
I won't claim that some of my best friends are dogs--it could be misinterpreted--but I have nothing against dogs, having had two when I was growing up. But if Obama really believed in change, not to mention equal rights and affirmative action, he would be getting a cat.
One could understand it in the case of Nixon, whose position in history was, arguably, due to a cocker spaniel named Checkers. But Checkers died in 1964, so never got the place he had earned in the White House save perhaps as an occasional visitor. But what did a dog do for Obama? What did Fala do for FDR or Millie or Spot for Bush's I and II?
I won't claim that some of my best friends are dogs--it could be misinterpreted--but I have nothing against dogs, having had two when I was growing up. But if Obama really believed in change, not to mention equal rights and affirmative action, he would be getting a cat.
13 comments:
Socks (born c. March 1991) was the pet cat of the Bill Clinton family.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socks_(cat)
Or even more generally, from googling "cats white house": http://www.pawsonline.info/whitehouse.htm.
Here's a link to a recent article on CNN about presidential pets:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/11/07/mf.presidential.pets/?iref=mpstoryview
I've got to say that the fact that Calvin Coolidge had a pygmy hippopotamus is pretty cool, and another pygmy hippopotamus in the white house is change I can believe in.
Cats for all! Two cats in every pot!
T. Roosevelt has a veritable zoo at the White House. Including a Zebra, I believe...
Bush's dog just made the news by biting a reporter.
Many of the same beliefs or desires that have pushed me toward the libertarian/anarcho-capitalist direction, such as the desire to live free from coercion, have also made me become a vegetarian. Animals evolved in the same manner as humans, so presumably have some level of self-interest. Since animals don’t screw with me, I’ll return the favor and refrain from screwing with them. Not sure what this has to do with Obama getting a pet, but it is the first thing that popped in my mind…
I'm surprised that you don't remember Socks, the White House cat, after the fooforaw over Rush Limbaugh's joke that that there was also a White House dog -- Chelsea Clinton.
I'm surprised that you don't remember Socks, the White House cat, after the fooforaw over Rush Limbaugh's joke that that there was also a White House dog -- Chelsea Clinton.
If you like to have a friend in the White House, than get yourself a dog.
Nice post. Let's have more cats, indeed! A pigmy hippo would be kind of cool, but as a cat person myself I'd naturally prefer politicians to be similarly oriented.
There must be some catty politicians, but I don't know of any offhand. It's rather prejudice-confirming that politicians seem to prefer doggy dependence and devotion to catty independence and self-reliance.
Taken from: http://ittybittykittycommittee.blogspot.com/2008/11/race-is-almost-over.html
16th President, Abraham Lincoln: Tabby. The first White House cat.
19th President, Rutherford Hayes: Siam. A gift from the American Consul in Bangkok; this cat was the first Siamese to reach the United States (1878).
26th President, Theodore Roosevelt: Slippers and Tom Quartz.
29th President, Calvin Coolidge: Smokey, Blackie, Timmy and Tiger. Tiger was a grey stripped stray who used to be carried around the White House by the president, around his neck.
35th President, John Kennedy: Tom Kitten. When the cat died in 1962, he was given an obituary notice by the press.
38th President, Gerald Ford: Shan.
39th President, Jimmy Carter: A Siamese, Misty Malarky Ying Yang.
40th President, Ronald Reagan: Cleo & Sara, Tortoiseshell strays, also several unnamed cats.
42nd President, Bill Clinton: Socks
43rd President, George W. Bush: Ernie and India "Willie" Bush and Cowboy.
Thanks for the reassurance about American presidents, Perry. Now all we need is the list of cat-loving international leaders worldwide...
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