Bill Clinton named 'Father of the Year' by National Father's Day Council
Photo credit: Getty Images | Former President Bill Clinton and daughter Chelsea Clinton attend the Clinton Global Initiative reception at The Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan. (Sept. 22, 2010)
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Forget about buying that "World's best dad" mug this Father's Day.
The honor of top pop already has been claimed.
Although 2013 is less than two weeks in, the National Father's Day Council already has bestowed the title of 2013 Father of the Year on former President Bill Clinton.
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The award seems like a bit of a head scratcher because the Chappaqua resident's only known child, Chelsea, is a married 32-year-old woman who hasn't lived at home since she moved away to college in 1997, a few months before most Americans first heard the name Monica Lewinsky.
Still, even those with grown children can be doting dads. Clinton called walking Chelsea down the aisle during her wedding in Rhinebeck the "most important job" he has ever had, although that job was back in 2010.
During his years in office, Clinton also had two four-legged babies: Socks the cat, who was given away to a staff member and later euthanized, and Buddy the dog, who died after being hit by a car in 2002.
In a 2001 interview with CNN, Clinton admitted he had a hard time raising the pets. "I did better with the Palestinians and the Israelis than I have done with Socks and Buddy," Clinton told CNN.
The awarding council, a not-for-profit group that first gave the award out to Douglas MacArthur in 1942, states on its (super official-sounding) website momanddadday.com that the award is given to "contemporary lifestyle leaders" who have shown dedication to family, charity and civility.
"With the profound generosity, leadership and tireless dedication to both his public office and many philanthropic organizations, President Clinton exemplifies the attributes that we celebrate through the Father of the Year award," Dan Orwig, chairman of the National Father`s Day Committee, said in a release.
Past Father of the Year recipients include New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York Governors Andrew Cuomo and his father, Mario Cuomo, and Bing Crosby, whose eldest son wrote a tell-all chronicling his father's physical and mental abuse.
The ceremony will take place in New York on June 11, the Tuesday before Father's Day.
