N o v e m b e r / D e c e m b e r - 1 9 9 6

Of Presidents
and Disability

Robert Dole, Republican candidate for president, was wounded during World War II and lost the use of his arm and hand. If Dole wins the Presidential election, would he become America's first disabled president? No, there's already been some disabled presidents.
The most famous disabled president was Franklin Delanor Roosevelt, president from 1932-1945. Roosevelt was confined to a wheelchair throughout his presidency.

Reagan--Semi-Deaf Ronald Reagan, president from 1980-1988, began to lose his hearing in his 30's. As president, Reagan used hearing aids. Still, he often could not hear the questions reporters asked him; once he continued a press conference because he could not hear the voice of the man who was trying to end it!

Clinton--Mildly Hard of Hearing In a sense many presidents have had disabilities because almost everyone develops disabilities. For example, people call President Bill Clinton very physically fit, but Clinton has a myriad of minor disabilities.
Clinton has allergies, pre-cancerous skin growths, and inflamed vocal chords that result in voice problems. He takes medicine for an acidic stomach and suffers from tendinitis in his shoulder. He is also mildly hard of hearing. He has a high frequency hearing loss that his staff says came from playing in his high school band and gunshots fired during his boyhood.

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Of Presidents and Disability

Of Presidents
and Disability