Hillary Clinton's softer image is clawed

[questionmark]

October 21, 2007

Ouch! Hillary Clinton's softer image is clawed over dumped cat

AS THE “first pet” of the Clinton era, Socks, the White House cat, allowed “chilly” Hillary Clinton to show a caring, maternal side as well as bringing joy to her daughter Chelsea. So where is Socks today?

Once the presidency was over, there was no room for Socks any more. After years of loyal service at the White House, the black and white cat was dumped on Betty Currie, Bill Clinton’s personal secretary, who also had an embarrassing clean-up role in the saga of his relationship with the intern Monica Lewinsky.

Some believe the abandoned pet could now come between Hillary Clinton and her ambition to return to the White House as America’s first woman president.

Clinton has been boosting her prospects in the past week with some homespun references to her gender as part of a series of events with the theme Women Changing America, during which she chatted girlfriend-to-girlfriend and mom-to-mom with female voters.

The softening of Clinton’s image seems to be working. Her chief strategist, Mark Penn, predicts that up to a quarter of Republican women will vote for her. She leads Democratic rivals in the polls by 26 points and is scooping up more donations to her war chest from Wall Street and defence contractors than any candidate from either party – an unmistakable indicator of who they think will win in 2008.

Clinton’s treatment of Socks cuts to the heart of the questions about her candidacy. 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?

“In the annals of human evil, off-loading a pet is nowhere near the top of the list,” writes Caitlin Flanagan in the current issue of The Atlantic magazine. “But neither is it dead last, and it is especially galling when said pet has been deployed for years as an all-purpose character reference.”

Flanagan’s article, headed No Girlfriend of Mine, points out that Clinton wrote a crowd-pleas-ing book 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”.

Full story, Source: The Times

[BrucePrime]

What a silly article.

[questionmark]

What a silly article.

But fun, ain't it?

[Neognosis]

First off, VERY biased.

Dumped

Loyal service

abandoned

This is stupid. Do you mean to imply that politicians do things just to present an image??? GASP! How can I go on in the world now that this has been revealed to me?!

Come on. It's a non-story. I will NEVER vote for her, but this is just stupid and I'm ashamed to belong to a species so stupid as to give this any gravity whatsoever.

How about this story:

DESPITE knowing that he would have to leave the dog alone and locked in a cage for hours upon hours, and days upon days while travelling from NY to washington, Senator X decided to keep his dog Mugsy, leaving him alone and depressed, with his only human contact being with a groundskeeper at Senator X's mansion who gives poor Mugsy one bowl of food and water once a day, and takes him out for 15 minutes every 8 hours to poop on the senator's sprawling estate.

If Senator X had any kind of heart, he would have given that noble animal to someone who could have cared for him and given him the home he deserves....someone like Betty Curry.

Come on, people. No wonder we elect the leaders we do.

F'ing idiots. You and your elected officials.

[el midgetron]

I think they should have put her to sleep.

[AROCES]

Hillary will not be President. She is uplifted now by the democrats on polls and the media, only becaus ethey think she is the best to win the presidency. She is not likable and that is big when it comes to running for President.

She became a Senator by runnnig in a district that she knows will never vote for any GOP.

It's like a boxer who takes on non contenders and washed out fighters to get a shot at the title.

Edited October 23, 2007 by AROCES

[ninjadude]

The cat?! Who the **** cares about the cat? We can't talk about real issues but we can talk about crap like the cat, label pins, ufo's.... This country is nuts. Unfortunately for the ignorant set of voters like Aroces says, likability is important. Image is important. We would never again elect a president in a wheelchair or one with a 5'ocock shadow. I feel true sorry for those who decide who to vote for based on silly issues like how they look, what they wear and what happened to the G**D*** PET!!

[The Silver Thong]

Hillary will not be President. She is uplifted now by the democrats on polls and the media, only becaus ethey think she is the best to win the presidency. She is not likable and that is big when it comes to running for President.

She became a Senator by runnnig in a district that she knows will never vote for any GOP.

It's like a boxer who takes on non contenders and washed out fighters to get a shot at the title.

Kinda like you deffending the Repub's..... keep the gloves up pup

[AROCES]

The cat?! Who the **** cares about the cat? We can't talk about real issues but we can talk about crap like the cat, label pins, ufo's.... This country is nuts. Unfortunately for the ignorant set of voters like Aroces says, likability is important. Image is important. We would never again elect a president in a wheelchair or one with a 5'ocock shadow. I feel true sorry for those who decide who to vote for based on silly issues like how they look, what they wear and what happened to the G**D*** PET!!

Ignorant sets of voters like me? You are pretty much admitting Hillary is not likable but we should all vote for here. Don't panic, maybe the hanging chad will go in your favor this time.

[Caesar]

Kinda like you deffending the Repub's..... keep the gloves up pup

Jesus...there you are!

[AROCES]

Kinda like you deffending the Repub's..... keep the gloves up pup

Of course! I prefer a Republican than any Democrat in the White House.

Actually, it is only Hillary really who I get so annoyed with, she is just such a fake and really just riding on Bills legacy that makes her think she deserves to be a President.

[__Kratos__]

The cat?! Who the **** cares about the cat?

Lots of people care. Many people in this country are pet owners. How you treat your pets and family can tell a lot about you. Hillary is a cold hearted witch. She's pushed Bill into submission with her crazies, her own daughter is a bit weird and has little connection to her own mother while also being insanely private, and now a pet who most would love to death is dumped off like a bag of trash on the curb.

What a person does in their personal life can say a lot about what they'll do in the future. Also meaning what kind of a leader she would be.

[Neognosis]

Lots of people care. Many people in this country are pet owners. How you treat your pets and family can tell a lot about you. Hillary is a cold hearted witch.

Yes, she took that cat, fed it poison, then put it into a trash bag and threw it out of her car window on the freeway.

Oh, no, wait. she gave the cat to Betty Curry. My GOD, that's HORRIBLE! Who in their right mind, when moving to a new job where they won't be home much at all to take care of an animal would GIVE IT AWAY TO SOMEONE WHO CAN TAKE CARE OF IT! OH, THE HUMANITY!

She's pushed Bill into submission with her crazies, her own daughter is a bit weird and has little connection to her own mother while also being insanely private

Ah, obviously you're a family member or an insider. Oh, what's that? You're not? You mean you gleaned all that just from watching Fox television? From the way you are writing, I just assumed you were a part of that marriage or maybe a secret sibling to Chelsea.

, and now a pet who most would love to death is dumped off like a bag of trash on the curb.

Yes, Betty Curry is a trash curb.

I'm sorry if I misunderstood your post, I don't speak ignorant bias all that well.

Can you tell me 5 key points of Hillary Clinton's platform? Without doing an internet search, that is?

No, I thought not.

No wonder we elect the morons we put into office.

What a person does in their personal life can say a lot about what they'll do in the future. Also meaning what kind of a leader she would be.

Winston Churchill - Mistress

John F Kennedy - several mistresses and a prescription drug addiction

Franklin Roosevelt - Mistress, possible lesbian wife, racist

Lincoln - Possible homosexual, crazy wife, horrible public speaker

Jefferson - slaves and mistresses, often both at the same time

Ben Franklin - Several mistresses, estranged from his Torrie son, didn't come home to see his dying wife.

I can go on and on, but you probably won't get it anyway.... since you're so sure that personal behavior is such an important factor as to what makes a good public leader.

Edited October 24, 2007 by Neognosis

[Lt_Ripley]

people dump their pets everyday without finding homes for them. With her busy schedule , unlike Mrs. Bush's' in comparison , it was actually a responsible thing to do.

if you don't have the time for a pet find a home for it with someone who does - yes even cats.

funny because it shows the desperation of the right about Mrs. Clinton. you can smell the fear in the air.

[Princess Serenity]

The poor cat. I don't think the cat will forgive Hillary abandoning him/her.

I'm sure the cat is in a better home.

[Unlimited]

The poor cat. I don't think the cat will forgive Hillary abandoning him/her.

I'm sure the cat is in a better home.

this is news?....i thought when buddy got hit by the truck that was big news but this?....

[Princess Serenity]

I didn't know about cat. I didn't even know she had a cat! >.>

Sorry.

[__Kratos__]

Yes, she took that cat, fed it poison, then put it into a trash bag and threw it out of her car window on the freeway.

No, she gave it a home and then dumped off the cat to someone else. If she had to move and she wasn't allowed a cat or something more warranted then as a excuse I heard here earlier that "she didn't have the time", it was her own stupidity that lead to that as she would have had to assume the time allowed to maintain a cat. I'm an animal lover and I'm not fond of idiots who buy animals to find they don't work out in their own plants because they were too bloody stupid to see that in the first place as an animal is bounced around.

Oh, no, wait. she gave the cat to Betty Curry. My GOD, that's HORRIBLE! Who in their right mind, when moving to a new job where they won't be home much at all to take care of an animal would GIVE IT AWAY TO SOMEONE WHO CAN TAKE CARE OF IT! OH, THE HUMANITY!

No room? Are you high or something to accept that lame excuse? How does a multi-millionaire family not have enough room in their houses and properties for a single cat? There was no problem at the White House when they were constantly traveling and such as they are now. Seems nothing has really changed but a location.

Ah, obviously you're a family member or an insider. Oh, what's that? You're not? You mean you gleaned all that just from watching Fox television? From the way you are writing, I just assumed you were a part of that marriage or maybe a secret sibling to Chelsea.

Observing from the media mostly of all types. Have you not see Bill Clinton the last few years? And their daughter has always been weird and private. Most recently she obviously threw a huge fit to daddy to prompt him to send a nasty letter to a business owner threatening legal action over the removal of his daughter's picture on a wall of fame. In the past she's disagreed with her mother in private resulting in Hillary saying she was sorry publically for not knowing about her own daughter after talks about her own views. From the what little press she's had on her, that's really all what anybody can look at. Blame the Clintons for not releasing more in such a time that their image is questioned.

Yes, Betty Curry is a trash curb.

I'm sorry if I misunderstood your post, I don't speak ignorant bias all that well.

Can you tell me 5 key points of Hillary Clinton's platform? Without doing an internet search, that is?

No, I thought not.

Why bother then if you're not going to believe me?

*looks quickly in his Newsweek magazine* ha ha! You only said internet!

No wonder we elect the morons we put into office.

Winston Churchill - Mistress

John F Kennedy - several mistresses and a prescription drug addiction

Franklin Roosevelt - Mistress, possible lesbian wife, racist

Lincoln - Possible homosexual, crazy wife, horrible public speaker

Jefferson - slaves and mistresses, often both at the same time

Ben Franklin - Several mistresses, estranged from his Torrie son, didn't come home to see his dying wife.

I can go on and on, but you probably won't get it anyway.... since you're so sure that personal behavior is such an important factor as to what makes a good public leader.

And if those people were running today with such as it is now, I seriously doubt they would get far because of what the public expects.

[Princess Serenity]

No, she gave it a home and then dumped off the cat to someone else. If she had to move and she wasn't allowed a cat or something more warranted then as a excuse I heard here earlier that "she didn't have the time", it was her own stupidity that lead to that as she would have had to assume the time allowed to maintain a cat. I'm an animal lover and I'm not fond of idiots who buy animals to find they don't work out in their own plants because they were too bloody stupid to see that in the first place as an animal is bounced around.

Ok. Thank you for that. I read the article though. :/

I'm a pet lover too. Both of my parents have pets. And their both "family pets."

[Lt_Ripley]

I doubt her being responsible and finding a good home for her ( her daughters) cat is going to hurt her run for president no matter how much the desperate right tries.

I mean it isn't like she's a drunk coke head like who we have in office now .

[The Silver Thong]

I didn't know about cat. I didn't even know she had a cat! >.>

Sorry.

You and me both. I'm still trying to figure out what the issue is. It's a freakin cat, just get another and set it on a pillow and take cute little picture's, problem solved. LOL

[Neognosis]

No, she gave it a home and then dumped off the cat to someone else.

"dumped." DUMPED? Really REALLY? If I got a job that required me to be out of town most of the time and working late nights when I was home, I would "dump" my dogs off to my brother, or perhaps to a friend/coworker.

You are already brainwashed, though. so of course this kind of stupid nonsense is important to you.

No room?

Calm down, put on your reading glasses, and reread my post, where you'll not find any mention of room being an issue.

There was no problem at the White House when they were constantly traveling and such as they are now.

Yea, and you know who probably took care of the cat then? BETTY CURRY. The woman who Hillary gave the cat to. Rather than keep the cat as a status and image symbol, she gave it to the person who had been taking care of it all along.

And if those people were running today with such as it is now, I seriously doubt they would get far because of what the public expects.

No, because of what PEOPLE LIKE YOU think is important. We would have missed out on lincoln, jefferson, roosevelt, and franklin would have been recalled as ambassador. Instead we would have ended up with people like the disasters we have in office now, because people like you first make unfounded judgements based on what the media feeds you about a politician's private life, and then you are misguided enough to believe that those things are important.

Regardless, if you would think instead of react emotionally, you probably would realize that the cat was most likely not bonded to the clintons anyway, rather to Betty Curry, the woman who kept it.

And why would a president get a pet when they have no time to bond with it or take care of it? Because morons who think that personal image is more important than policy (recognize anyone with that attitude?) would not vote for someone who is too cold to have a widdle cute kitty cat or a cute widdle puppy...

Morons. We will get what we deserve.

[Neognosis]

You know what, I'm being harsh and I appologize.

Just please, please PLEASE, for the love of all that is still good in this country, educate yourselves on the candidates POLICIES and make your decisions based on who you think has the best policy. NOT who saw a space alien, or who gave a cat away, or who has an accused but unconvicted molester working for their campaign, or who's got the best/worst hair, or who seems like a nice person. PLEASE realize that these things are nothing more than intentional distractions in order to make you vote for someone else who's just better at spinning their personal flaws or mistake moments.

The media INSULTS you when they run a story about a politicians cat or a lapel pin or a divorce or whatever....They think you are stupid and that you don't know or care about issues and policy, and that all you are capable of caring about is that politics play out like a soap opera. Please show the world that our media is WRONG.

The lives of our children could depend on it. Do you really want to make a decision about a politician who might lead us into WWIII because sometimes they put their hand on their heart durring the anthem, and sometimes they just stand at attention? Or over a god damned lapel pin? Or a divorce? Or a wayward child?

Please just learn the issues, learn the policies, and choose the person you think has the best policies. I would hate to see our civilization plunged into darkness because Guiliani divorced his wife, or McCain cheated on his sick wife, or Hillary gave a cat away, or Obama didn't wear a flag on his lapel or whatever crap they are going to come up with in the next year.....

[questionmark]

You know what, I'm being harsh and I appologize.

Just please, please PLEASE, for the love of all that is still good in this country, educate yourselves on the candidates POLICIES and make your decisions based on who you think has the best policy. NOT who saw a space alien, or who gave a cat away, or who has an accused but unconvicted molester working for their campaign, or who's got the best/worst hair, or who seems like a nice person. PLEASE realize that these things are nothing more than intentional distractions in order to make you vote for someone else who's just better at spinning their personal flaws or mistake moments.

The media INSULTS you when they run a story about a politicians cat or a lapel pin or a divorce or whatever....They think you are stupid and that you don't know or care about issues and policy, and that all you are capable of caring about is that politics play out like a soap opera. Please show the world that our media is WRONG.

The lives of our children could depend on it. Do you really want to make a decision about a politician who might lead us into WWIII because sometimes they put their hand on their heart durring the anthem, and sometimes they just stand at attention? Or over a god damned lapel pin? Or a divorce? Or a wayward child?

Please just learn the issues, learn the policies, and choose the person you think has the best policies. I would hate to see our civilization plunged into darkness because Guiliani divorced his wife, or McCain cheated on his sick wife, or Hillary gave a cat away, or Obama didn't wear a flag on his lapel or whatever crap they are going to come up with in the next year.....

It is such a novel idea it will never catch on....

[__Kratos__]

"dumped." DUMPED? Really REALLY? If I got a job that required me to be out of town most of the time and working late nights when I was home, I would "dump" my dogs off to my brother, or perhaps to a friend/coworker.

You are already brainwashed, though. so of course this kind of stupid nonsense is important to you.

And that would be a valid excuse for dogs as they're high maintance and will whine/bark/howl you to death if they're not getting attention.

Cats however are much less on the needy scale. It was fine all that time with Hillary and there is seemly no valid excuse to ditch a loving pet off.

Calm down, put on your reading glasses, and reread my post, where you'll not find any mention of room being an issue.

You accussed me of being ignorant earlier, I guess here we have the old saying... Don't throw stones in a glass house.

Re-read the article and that was the reason Clinton gave for the getting rid of the cat.

Yea, and you know who probably took care of the cat then? BETTY CURRY. The woman who Hillary gave the cat to. Rather than keep the cat as a status and image symbol, she gave it to the person who had been taking care of it all along.

Still pretty cold to get rid of a pet after years of being with it.

No, because of what PEOPLE LIKE YOU think is important. We would have missed out on lincoln, jefferson, roosevelt, and franklin would have been recalled as ambassador. Instead we would have ended up with people like the disasters we have in office now, because people like you first make unfounded judgements based on what the media feeds you about a politician's private life, and then you are misguided enough to believe that those things are important.

Regardless, if you would think instead of react emotionally, you probably would realize that the cat was most likely not bonded to the clintons anyway, rather to Betty Curry, the woman who kept it.

And why would a president get a pet when they have no time to bond with it or take care of it? Because morons who think that personal image is more important than policy (recognize anyone with that attitude?) would not vote for someone who is too cold to have a widdle cute kitty cat or a cute widdle puppy...

Morons. We will get what we deserve.

They do seem important because it's part of who they are and how they act.

Just please, please PLEASE, for the love of all that is still good in this country, educate yourselves on the candidates POLICIES and make your decisions based on who you think has the best policy.

And who they are in real life is important to me, a voter, for their actions, how they will lead us, how they will look to the rest of the world and how good of a job they will do.

I'm all out refusing to vote for Mitt Romney because he is a mormon. Him being mormon isn't related to policy but applying my own standards on the next leader.

What you don't like is the fact that people are judging our elected leaders outside of just their policy but rather their actions and life styles.