Stephany Springer

Do Presidential Pets Such As Socks The Cat Make A Difference In The Run For Presidency?



Posted: Monday, October 22, 2007

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When I worked as a reporter, my editor would always ask the same question at the start of every story pitch: “Does it have a dog or cat in it? He would follow with, “Because you know people are crazy about their animals."

The majority of the time he was right. We could write any article about injustice in the government or a kid treated wrongly at school, and have no response. We could write about an animal clinic or lost dog and have 100 emails by the next morning. Publish a picture of a dog or cat and we could sell out. We learned quickly that pets make a difference.

So here is the question: are pets important to us in who we pick for our president? Some analysts are saying that Socks, the once loved Presidential cat, will haunt Hillary Clinton in her run to the oval office. I guess we will have the opportunity to figure out if black cats are bad luck.

In this instance, Socks is playing a role because of the cat’s treatment after it left the white house. Apparently, there was no more room for Socks in the Clinton household and the black and white cat was dumped on Betty Currie, Bill Clinton’s personal secretary.

So why is this an issue? Hillary is trying to show herself as a softer female in an effort to gain women’s votes.

Fox News statess, “Clinton’s treatment of Socks cuts to the heart of the questions about her candidacy." And asks, "Is she too cold and calculating to win the presidency? Or does it signify political invincibility by showing she is willing to deploy every weapon to get what she wants?"

Clinton authored "Dear Socks, Dear Buddy: Kids’ Letters to the First Pets," in which she claimed that only with the arrival of Socks and his “toy mouse" did the White House “become a home." So was the cat not important in making a home when she left the White House?

I do think it is interesting that Clinton is now trying to use femininity to reach voters as an area that she feels her male counterparts can not do. She jokes on daytime tv about how long it takes her to get ready. Women have said that they will vote for her just because she is a woman.

As someone who has grown up in Arkansas and as a woman, Clinton is probably the last female role model I would ever have and I personally hate cats (could be because I am allergic to them). I don't think I have ever viewed her as a wife and mother. I see her as a co-partner to a man, a business associate, so to speak.

I don’t however, see this issue with Socks making too big of a deal for her campaign or her image. Unless, maybe, we could get PETA outraged or Humans for Cats (not sure if that is even an organization-should be one out there somewhere) to jump on an anti-Hillary bandwagon.

Whatever way, I am curious to what your thoughts are. Does her treatment of Socks make a difference in your views of her? Leave your answer in the comments.

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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)
» left by Jean Horst
 4 years 111 days ago.
177 fans.
You know Stephany, this article scares me! I don't want to believe that the average voter is so shallow that they would base how they vote on whether a candidate has a pet or not. Say it ain't so!
» left by 4 years 103 days ago.
I don't think the issue is whether or not a candidate has a pet, or even what kind of pet. I think the question is whether her actions in dealing with the cat as a part of her image (and then no longer needed as part of her image) would sway voters in one direction or another. Thanks for the comment!
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