Who2 Editorial Blog
Notes and Commentary from the Editors
Monday, January 05, 2009
"India," First Cat, Dies at White House
It's been quite a month for White House pet news.First the hubbub about a new dog for the Obama family.
Then the poor health of Socks, the former First Cat favored by Chelsea Clinton.
Now the White House has announced the death of India, the little-known feline of the Bush White House. India (aka "Kitty" and "Willie") was 18.
Labels: Barack Obama, Chelsea Clinton, George W. Bush, India the Cat, Socks the Cat
Posted by Mr. Holznagel at 10:29 AM 
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Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Socks, Former First Cat, is Gravely Ill
Sad news: Socks the Cat is sick with cancer and isn't expected to live.
Socks roamed the White House as Chelsea Clinton's pet from 1993-2001. (The Clintons adopted him way back in 1991, when Bill Clinton was still governor of Arkansas.) When Socks left office in 2001, he went to live with Clinton secretary Betty Currie and her husband in Maryland.
Currie said this summer that Socks had become the Abe Vigoda of presidential pets. When people meet the cat, "'I didn't know Socks was still alive' is the first thing they say."
It's a bummer. But Socks has long since outlived his White House rival, Buddy the Labrador retriever, who was hit by a car in 2002.
Labels: Betty Currie, Bill Clinton, Buddy the Dog, Chelsea Clinton, Socks the Cat
Posted by Mr. Holznagel at 5:38 AM Share on Facebook 0 comments
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
President Barack Obama By the Numbers
Barack Obama will be the next president of the United States. Here's a by-the-numbers look ahead at this historic event.{ 1 } Obama will be the first president born in Hawaii. (Small surprise: Hawaii didn't become a state until 1959. Obama was born in 1961.)
{ 77 } Days until Obama's inauguration on 20 January 2009.
{ 47-5-16 } Obama's age in years, months and days when he takes office in January.
He'll be the fifth-youngest American president ever. Theodore Roosevelt is still the champ at age 42, followed by John Kennedy (43), Bill Clinton (46 years, 5 months), and Ulysses Grant (46 years, 11 months). Obama will bump Grover Cleveland (47 years, 11 months) from the top five.
{ 8 } Presidents, including Obama, schooled at Harvard.
Of those eight, he is the second to attend Harvard Law School. Rutherford B. Hayes was the first; he graduated in 1845, 146 years before Obama.
{ 24 } Years Michelle Obama will be older than the youngest first lady.
Michelle Obama will turn 45 on January 17th, three days before her husband takes office. Frances Folsom married Grover Cleveland at the White House in 1886, when she was only 21. There have been many youngish First Ladies; most recently, Jackie Kennedy was 31 when JFK took office in 1961.
{ 2 } Michelle Obama will be the second First Lady with a law degree. Hillary Clinton was the first.
{ 7 } and { 10 } Ages of Obama's daughters Sasha and Malia when he takes office.
Jenna and Barbara Bush were 19 when George W. Bush was inaugurated. Chelsea Clinton was 12 at the start of her father's term in 1993. Amy Carter was nine when Jimmy Carter took office in 1977.
{ 1 } Obama will be the first Columbia University undergraduate to become president. (Dwight Eisenhower was president of Columbia when he was elected U.S. president in 1952.)
{ 4 } Presidents, including Obama, with strong ties to Illinois.
Abraham Lincoln remains the state's favorite son (though he was actually born in Kentucky). Ulysses Grant was a clerk in Galena, Illinois when the Civil War broke out; he was living there again in 1868 when he received word he had been elected president. And Ronald Reagan was born in Tampico in 1911.
{ 44 } Obama will be the 44th U.S. president. (Grover Cleveland -- him again! -- is counted as both the 22nd and 24th presidents, having served non-consecutive terms.)
{ 55 } Obama's age on leaving office in 2017, if he serves two terms. That's one year older than George W. Bush was when he took office in 2001. In the year 2017, Michelle Obama will be 53. Sasha and Malia will be 15 and 18.
{ 1 } Barack Obama will be the first African-American president. It has been 138 years since the 15th Amendment guaranteed African-Americans the right to vote.
Labels: Abraham Lincoln, Barack Obama, Chelsea Clinton, Dwight Eisenhower, George W. Bush, Malia Obama, Michelle Obama, Ronald Reagan, Sasha Obama, Teddy Roosevelt, Ulysses Grant
Posted by Mr. Holznagel at 9:25 PM Share on Facebook 10 comments
