It is the anniversary of Mike Pence adorably geeking out over Garfield on the House floor
It's June 19, and you know what that means: It is Garfield's birthday. But not "President Garfield," as then-Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) told the House during a charming floor speech 15 years ago, "but probably someone more famous in this day and age than that. A large, orange, slovenly, lazy cat born in the mind of an Indiana native by the name of Jim Davis."
Standing with a poster featuring a cartoon Garfield bursting out of a chocolate cake, Pence told his colleagues that "it's said people relate to Garfield because Garfield in many ways is them." The man who would one day be vice president of the United States observed that Garfield "loves TV and hates Mondays, he'd rather pig out than work out — in fact, his passion for food and sleep is matched only by his aversion to diet and exercise. A cat after my own heart."
Watch Pence's adorable tribute to Garfield here, or below beginning at 8:17:14. Jeva Lange
The Week
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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