Much of today”s politics seems to be based upon candidates either being pigeonholed as leaning to the right or the left. I”ve never given much thought to which hand they use most, the right or the left. Statistically, though, the number of left-handed presidents in the past 50 years has really been out of whack.
Four of the last six presidents have been southpaws. Bill Clinton, George Bush Sr., Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford could have answered to the nickname “Lefty”. It was almost five out of six. Al Gore is left-handed and we all remember how close he came to being president, instead of George W. Bush. Based upon left-handers making up a little more than 10 percent of the population, normal would be to have a left-handed president every 9-10 elections.
On Inauguration Day, when Barack Obama is sworn in, the left-handed ratio will move to five out of the last seven. When John McCain and Barack Obama became the last two major party candidates standing for the November election, we were destined to have another left-handed president, regardless who won. Both are lefties. There was a similar situation in 1992 when all three major candidates, George Bush Sr., Bill Clinton and H. Ross Perot, were left-handed.
Interestingly, there was only one left-handed president before the 20th century. It was James Garfield, the 20th president, elected in 1880. All 19 presidents before Garfield were right-handed. Although Garfield favored his left, he was actually ambidextrous. He would amaze people by simultaneously writing something in Greek with one hand and in Latin with the other. He may have been the only person who ever performed that parlor trick.
Barack Obama will be the 44th U.S. president and the eighth left-hander. Why have there been so many left-handed presidents in recent years and none during the first 100 years? Historically, left-handedness was viewed as a curse, instead of a blessing. Biblically, there are more than 100 positive references to the right hand and none for the left. The Bible contains 25 negative references to the left hand. The devil has almost always been referred to as left-handed. In early Catholicism, a left-handed cardinal could never have ascended to pope. So, one can see why, in the past, left-handers often switched to the more favored right hand.
As the left-handed stigma began to disappear, lo and behold, we started seeing left-handed leaders rise to the presidency. Melissa Roth, author of “The Left Stuff: How the Left-Handed Have Survived and Thrived in a Right-Handed World”, says that “Left-handed people share traits that are commonly found in leaders.” When it comes to political speeches Roth says, “Lefties are more likely to integrate the literal elements of speech with the more figurative; the symbolism and visual imagery, and these are all very important when it comes to inspiring your electorate.”
Even though the odds were against them in their eras, some of the greatest leaders in history were left-handed. Julius Caesar, Charlemagne and Alexander the Great all wielded their swords with their left hand. But, does the fact that a president is left-handed guarantee that he is going to be a great, or even good president? Personally, I don”t think it does. Although, of the past six presidents, I believe the two poorest performers were the right-handers, George W. Bush and Jimmy Carter. But, many people would argue that not all of the left-handers, Clinton, Bush Sr., Reagan and Ford, were great presidents, either.
Many factors impact the success of a presidency, including who is chosen for cabinet positions, what the administration inherits, what it chooses as its goals and how it reacts to national and world events. Barack Obama will have lots of challenges to overcome before ever being classified a great president. I don”t believe his left-handedness is going to be the deciding factor. For our country”s sake, though, I hope he is able to succeed.
Gary Dickson is the publisher of the Record-Bee. He can be reached at gdickson@record-bee.com or called direct at 263-5636 ext. 24.
