Left Handers
| Published: 25th June 2008 22:17 |
Left Handed President a certainty in the White House
A fascinating trend for US Presidents to be left-handed is certain to continue, whoever wins the current race to the White House. Barack Obama and his rival John McCain are both left-handers, and follow in the footsteps of southpaw presidents Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W.Bush and Bill Clinton.
Strange as it may seem, this leftie battle for power is by no means unusual in American politics. In 1992 all three Presidential Candidates, Clinton, Bush and Independent candidate Ross Perot were left-handers and in 1996 Clinton won a second term against fellow leftie Bob Dole.
Only 13 per cent of the population are left-handed, making this extraordinary trend hard to dismiss as pure chance. Analysts are now wondering whether the high instance of left-handers among presidential candidates in recent election campaigns indicates that it could be a key attribute for successful leadership.
Lauren Milsom, Director of www.anythingleft-handed.co.uk and author of "Your Left-Handed Child" confirms that many positive traits directly linked to left-handedness are emerging in current research.
"Studies have shown,for example,that among graduates the earning power of left-handed men is 15 per cent greater than that of their right-handed counterparts, perhaps because they are more likely to use both hemispheres of their brain to visualise problems and evaluate situations." Bilateral brain function may be useful in developing the social and communication skills necessary to be successful in business and politics.
Another common attribute of left-handers is an ability to solve problems with creative thinking. "This is a talent born out of necessity" explains Milsom "since our environment is designed for right-handers' convenience, thus routinely presenting left-handers with awkward and potentially hazardous situations that have to be overcome".
With such a strong leftie contingent in the White House, it must surely only be a matter of time before Left-Handers Day, the annual celebration of left-handedness on 13th August, is designated an American National Holiday.
Site Editors comment
What do you think about Left Handers - do you have any in your family? Are they more creative than right handed members of your family? Let us know what you think in the box below.Oh by the way your site editor is also left handed - well at least I write , poorly, with my left hand and play snooker left handed. However golf, squash and badminton I play right handed. How can you explain that?
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