No Matter What, A Lefty Will Win the White House

While this year's presidential campaign has been marked by historic firsts, the nominations of senators McCain and Obama will renew one surprising trend: For the fifth time in the last 35 years, America will have a lefty in the White House.

Both major party candidates are southpaws, contributing to a largely unexplained phenomenon that has vexed researchers and historians -- and drawn notice from a federal judge destined for the Supreme Court. Though left-handers comprise just 10% of the population, they are dominating presidential politics.

Their recent success transcends ideology. Since 1974, presidents Ford, Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Clinton have all favored their left hands, while President Carter and the current President Bush are righties. The trait is also not exclusive to winning candidates: Vice President Gore is left-handed, as are past presidential contenders Robert Dole, John Edwards, Bill Bradley, and Ross Perot. A prominent New Yorker who flirted with a White House bid, Mayor Bloomberg, is a lefty.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[LeonFreilich]

WAITING FOR LEFTY

McCain or Obama?
Let's be candid:
The next president
Will be--left-handed.

Though they differ
At the core
Each was born
A strict southpore.

[meltingpot101]

Lefties are the only people who bothered to read this blog, comment too for that matter.

myself included.

The % of lefties in the population to % of lefthanded presidents is quite interesting.

[MizLiz]

If any of you righties out there are wondering why Obama's hand is curled in such an uncomfortable position in the picture, it's due to teachers, intent on doing things the "right" way, keep turning the papers us lefties were trying to write on. Tilted fine for right-handers...the rest of us have to curl our hand over what we're writing.

Of course nowadays teachers can't be bothered even teaching penmanship, much less which way to tilt the damn paper.

[Jay20]

wow, the worst Presidents of the last 30 years were both righties.

[RI]

Forget race and gender. Let"s discriminate against inferior right-handed politicos!

[HouseOfRoberts]

Dole doesn't count, his right arm was permanently injured. Bush, despite being right handed, doesn't fit either profile, he would be incompetent no matter which hand was dominant.

[BadCompany]

No matter what?