Lt. Gov. David Paterson, who would become Governor of New York if Eliot Spitzer resigns or is forced from office, is legally blind. I understand that there are different degrees of blindness, but haven’t been able to find out just how blind he is. Can he read at all? Would he have to have a bill read aloud to him, for instance, before deciding whether to sign or veto it? Does he require a guide dog or a human aide at his elbow to get around day to day?
According to his Wikipedia article, he has optic atrophy, resulting in no vision in one eye and “severely limited” vision in the other.
It doesn’t mention if he’s able to read or not. If not, since he has been blind since childhood, he can probably read Braille.
According to the NY Post (and with their headlines you know it must be accurate), Lt. Gov. Patterson did not learn to read Braille, and instead uses audiobooks exclusively.
So it seems he would have to have any important stuff read to him, or use a text-to-speech device.
Apparently, most blind people cannot read Braille. This site says that only about 12% of blind children are taught Braille, and one person guesstimates that probably about 20% of blind people as a whole know it.
That’s amazing. I assumed every blind child (at least in this country) would be taught Braille. Did the article explain why this is the case (the link did not work for me)?
Cite: My local news, WGRZ-Buffalo, in a 2006 report they replayed last night from the Spitzer campaign.
Paterson can see only shapes, and not use a teleprompter. He did not use a guide dog or a human guide in any of the footage (including bounding down the steps of a campaign bus) or any of the times I saw him speak.
I think it’s because Braille doesn’t really work all that well, and has been overtaken by technology.
I know that as we organize Democratic political conventions, the call always offers to provide Braille translations of the agenda & rules, if requested in advance.
But I haven’t done that for many years. When people contact me about it, I mention that I have the original as a word processing file, and they always say ‘oh, great – can you just email that file to me?’ Apparently they find reading such a file via a screen reader program they have on their computer is much easier.
Seems like computer scanners, screen readers, and text-to-speech programs have pretty much replaced Braille for many blind people.
There are at least two Canadian MPs who are visually impaired and I believe legally blind: Diane Finley (Conservative MP for Haldimand–Norfolk, ON and Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) and Louise Thibault (Independent MP for Rimouski-Neigette–Témiscouata–Les Basques, QC). I’m not sure what adaptive measures they use for their political duties.
(On the disability in politics front, another Conservative MP, Steven Fletcher (Charleswood–St. James–Assiniboia, MB) is quadriplegic and requires an attendant at all times. They had to specially adapt a bench in the House and improve the accessibility of the Parliament Buildings to accommodate him, and create a category for his attendant - a “Stranger to the House,” a first in a Westminster-system parliament - so that she could remain with him on the floor and help him with his political duties. I truly admire him, as well as Ms. Finley and Mme Thibault, for blazing a trail into Parliament for disabled people, even though all of their politics are pretty dreadful.)
[ETA: It appears that Ms. Finley in fact has Graves’ Disease, which causes oversensitivity to bright light. I’m not sure to what extent this impairs her vision, but she needs to wear special lenses in the House, and my understanding is that she’s visually impaired.]
braille is rather expensive. and even a small pamplet can become a tome due to the paper weight needed and room for the dots not to get squished.
i can understand given modern tech. and computers that braille is going by the wayside. i would imagine that it would be mostly those who have sight and hearing problems that would most use braille.
now for something completely different… putting the gov. and lt. gov. stories together…
a bell seems to be ringing in my brain… wasn’t there a politician who claimed he only hired the prostitutes to read him reports and business documents? as i remember he did not have a visual or reading disability.
Some articles are saying that Paterson can see get around and even recognize people at normal conversational distance, and can even read a bit if the message is large enough. But he can’t read a book or recognize people at at distance.
That’s typical. Most people who are legally blind have some amount of vision, just not much.
In the Public Radio report on him today, he mentioned in an older interview that he has several aides and assistants read memos and documents into his voice mail and he listens to it whenever he gets chance.
As mentioned, he never bothered with braille and does not need guide dogs or canes. He has just enough vision in one eye to see shapes and some colors and can thus navigate himself while walking.
He will be the third black Governor in US history and the first legally blind Governor if I recall what I heard correctly.
Here is a link to WNYC, http://www.wnyc.org/ I think the second item is what I heard today.
Presumably, the thread title will soon need to be changed.
Thanks, everyone. I learned that British MP and former Home Secretary David Blunkett is completely blind, and makes use of guide dogs: David Blunkett - Wikipedia
Also, William Safire wrote a book in the late 1970s called Full Disclosure, in which a U.S. President is near-totally blinded in an assassination attempt. A Federal judge is appointed to certify the President’s signing or veto of any bills (although it’s pointed out that no one expects even a fully-sighted President to read every bill sent down from Capitol Hill). The President comes under considerable political pressure to resign due to his blindness, and eventually does, but on his own terms.
There’s a story about Paterson in the NY Times you may need registration to see the whole article, but I’ll quote the fun part.
Let’s just hope he doesn’t have Chris O’Donnell take him out for a night on the town. The last thing we need is another governor hiring call girls, and then test-driving a Ferrari down a bunch of alleys at 80 miles an hour, while blind.
HOOO-Ahhhh 
Good point. How’s his tango technique, I wonder? Somebody cue up “Por Una Cabeza,” please…
The joke going around work here is that since his blind the prostitution bill for the state will go WAY down!
NPR’s “Morning Edition” had a brief profile of him today. The story said aides must help him get around unfamiliar rooms sometimes, and most documents and bills are read aloud to him.