The Next President will be left-handed
By Bernie on 09 Oct 2008
During the Presidential debates some of my readers probably noticed that Obama and McCain are both left-handed thus ensuring that the next President of the US will be a Southpaw. The last time this country was guaranteed a left-handed President was in 1992 when George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and H. Ross Perot joined in a three-way race for the top office.
What may not be so well-known is that four out of the previous five Presidents before Bush are Southpaws: 38th - Gerald Ford (1913-2006), 40th - Ronald Reagan (1911 - 2004), 41st - George H.W. Bush (1924- ), and 42nd - Bill Clinton (1946- ).
Interestingly George Bush is a righty but if he lost in 2000 then we would have had another lefty: Al Gore.
Before President Ford there were only three other left-handed Presidents 20th - James A. Garfield (1831-1881), 31st - Herbert Hoover (1874-1964), and 33rd - Harry S. Truman (1884-1972). Of course years ago there was a stigma attached to being left-handed and I have no doubt that very likely we had quite a number of closet lefties.
Although left-handers comprise just 7-10% of the population (but less than 5% of those 50 years old or older), they seem now to be dominating presidential politics. In February of 2009 50% of all Presidents since World War Two will have been left-handed.
Last August 13 was National Left-Hander's Day. Here's a webpage with lists of famous people who are left-handed.
In case you are wondering why Angelina Jolie is at the top of this post, she's a lefty which is of course the only reason I pasted her up there.
Anyone may republish this article for non-commercial use without asking my permission. I make it easy, see details here.
Comments
Hey, leave a comment - if this is your first time here, please read my Comment Policy HERE.
Subscribe to this blog's feed
