OPINION — Joe Biden has been a Democrat all his life, but last week he became a Democat. The president should embrace being a cat person (although not literally). It may just save his presidency.
Not since President George W. Bush has a FCOTUS (First Cat of the United States) roamed the White House premises. Abraham Lincoln was the first president to have cats — Tabby and Dixie, a gift from Secretary of State William Seward. Lincoln viewed the pair as more honorable dinner companions than his human predecessor, James Buchanan.
Cat parenthood has proven to be good electoral politics. Of the nine cat president incumbents who sought another term in office, seven won, giving them a higher reelection rate than the non-feline commanders-in-chief. The Bidens passed the first test by naming their cat Willow. An unrelatable name can be a president’s undoing — just ask Jimmy Carter and his daughter’s cat Misty Malarky Ying Yang. “No Malark[e]y!” as Biden would say.
But it’s who a cat is that can guide Biden. Dogs tell their humans, “I need you because I love you.” Cats say, “I love you because I need you.” It’s unconditional love from dogs. It’s very much conditional from cats. At this time of pandemic and inflation, Biden isn’t getting love because Americans don’t feel like he’s fulfilling their needs. His approval rating is only higher at this point in a first term than Donald Trump’s, the first non-pet president since Andrew Johnson.
https://www.rollcall.com/2022/01/31/joe-biden-can-reset-his-presidency-with-willow-the-cat/