It’s a very obscure question but I did some research and it turns out that the president who led us out of the Depression and kicked Hitler’s ass was actually in a wheelchair? Who knew?
Kevin, I am not a historian, so IDK, but has there ever been a President in American History who used a mobility aid? And, if so, would you say this president who was so weak as to need, say, braces or a wheelchair, is considered to be one of the top President’s ever?
FDR did a lot to conceal his disability. Ableism was really fierce at the time, and he wanted to project vigor. It was heroic, and clever. Aides would carry a standing FDR to a podium, holding him up by his powerful arms. And then he’d use those arms to stay up while he spoke.
A clever trick was to arrive at a crowd to give a speech in a car, drive the car up a ramp with a microphone, and have him give the speech from the car. It gave the impression he was in a hurry to fix things. Political cartoonists obliged, and frequently depicted him running.
It absolutely sucks that he felt obliged to do that, an indictment of pervasive ableism. But he met the challenge heroically.
He’d acquired polio as an adult, probably while camping with the Boy Scout troop he led.
He concealed it, though not completely.
But that’s beside the point. He was in a wheelchair and, despite the ableist framing of the Economist, he was the greatest U.S. president ever.
Absolutely. My parents practically worshipped him, made a point of teaching me about his disability. They had a good friend who was a Judge, said FDR made it possible for him to preside in a wheelchair.
I haven’t read the Economist article referred to, though I’m a subscriber.
US Naval Institute Proceedings in the 30s once made reference to a cruiser (Houston, IIRC) being frequently used by FDR as a transport because it had special “Presidential fittings” and I’ve long suspected that was code for ramps and the like.
Both Bush, Jr., and Biden rode bikes to demonstrate their vigor.
I ride a bike because it’s fun, and easy. But I’ve reached the age where my Doctors recommend it for older folks.
The Economist. Of all magazines.
When Biden and team has literally shaped the best economic recovery during this Covid pandemic than every other country in the world?
When stock market and NASDAQ higher than ever?
They are that thirsty for making sure Trump's tax cuts don't expire in 2025?
Fake news! Not a single MAGA-approved book will ever lead them to that kind of information. There's NO way we could have ever had a president that couldn't walk, wheelchairs and walkers weren't invented until after the Internet (because nothing existed before the Internet).
The thing is, the conservative movement hates FDR more than any president except maybe Obama and Biden. There is a wealth of conservative thinktank bullshit out there claiming that FDR made everything worse, and everything everywhere would have gone better if only he'd not been elected.
Yes. And, interestingly, the one thing that is not being cut is support for disabled students (federal law requires an ADA office but UT has other groups that provide social support, etc.)
Dan Quayle - Dan fucking Quayle - said “I wear their scorn as a badge of honor” and I don’t know why it is that Dan Quayle - Dan fucking Quayle - had the greatest line of any politician in my lifetime, but there it is.
It's incredible how few people know about his documented health conditions. I see people speculate about his gait all the time, even though it's been covered in his yearly medical report since he took office. My dad has similar spinal issues and his brain is fine www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/u...
I found out I have that and yeah, the only problem is that it’s currently pinching a nerve. My brain is fine. Also, I too need to get to bed at a decent time because, like Biden, I get up early.
Interesting. The Shrinking Trump podcast/you-tube documented that Convicted Felon DonnieDumbass has lost fine motor control of his right leg. Their prognosis is not of aging, but he is compensating for a degrading CNS.
The Republicans all hate him because he dared to use the government to help all people, not just the privileged. (Yes, he made a lot of mistakes, No, he didn't help everybody. But he did help a lot...)
As for the SCOTUS decision on immunity, I think we can all remember studying how FDR had Chicago Mayor Cermak assassinated while he was sitting right next to him. Never prosecuted.
Okay I now need you to explain that to the entire staff of the Chicago Transit Authority. Because I've been using a wheelchair for the last 6 weeks and they've stopped listening to me. Literally not letting me off at my bus stop - because a back injury means I can't look both ways or something. Ugh.
