# Would Obama have been elected if like FDR he used a wheelchair? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 20, 2013, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-obama-have-been-elected-if-like-fdr-he-used-a-wheelchair/653453 "2013-03-20T15:25:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-obama-have-been-elected-if-like-fdr-he-used-a-wheelchair/653453/1 "2013-03-20T15:25:02Z")
Reading up about the life and times of FDR, came across the lengths he went to [conceal his paralysis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_D._Roosevelt%27s_paralytic_illness) from the public - very few photographs of [FDR in his wheelchair](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Rooseveltinwheelchair.jpg) exist, he taught himself to laboriously walk with braces and support himself on lecterns; such measures were deemed vital for his electoral success. > [@](#): > > According to famed broadcaster David Brinkley, who was a young White House reporter in World War II, the Secret Service actively interfered with photographers who tried to take pictures of Roosevelt in a wheelchair or being moved about by others. However, there were occasional exceptions.[11] But we live in more enlightened times…or do we? If Obama had the same condition as FDR but did not conceal it (given the prevalence of the press these days I’d wager it would be impossible to conceal in the same manner as FDR), how would his electoral success have been effected? Only chose Obama as he is the incumbent - feel free to substitute George W. Bush or Clinton if you feel it would make a difference. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-obama-have-been-elected-if-like-fdr-he-used-a-wheelchair/653453/2 "2013-03-20T15:33:44Z")
FDR portrayed himself as a man who had beaten polio. It was an open secret that he was usually in a wheel chair. He couldn’t really walk with braces more than a step or two, someone was always holding him up. He could stand when he could hold on to a railing or lectern. So his condition was worse then the public even realized. A presidential candidate in a wheelchair could succeed now. He or she won’t be able to hide it and project an image of someone who had beaten the condition that prevented them from walking, but people aren’t going to assume someone can’t do the job of president because they’re wheelchair bound. The regular political issues will make the difference. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-obama-have-been-elected-if-like-fdr-he-used-a-wheelchair/653453/3 "2013-03-20T15:35:30Z")
I think so. I don’t think the American public really cares about physical handicaps amongst their politicians. McCain and Dole were both handicapped and while neither man lost, their physical limitations don’t seem to have cost them many votes. Plus, even if people didn’t know it then,pretty much everyone knows now that FDR was handicapped, and its hard to say it held him back any. So given most people already know of one well regarded crippled Prez, I doubt they’d be too hesitant to elect another. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-obama-have-been-elected-if-like-fdr-he-used-a-wheelchair/653453/4 "2013-03-20T15:44:16Z")
> [@Mr.Kobayashi](#): > > But we live in more enlightened times… WTF, ROTFLMAO? He had the handicap of being half black and still won twice despite all the thinly veiled racial attacks on his religious beliefs and place of birth. Had he been in a wheelchair they would have accused him of faking it and asking him to prove that he couldn’t walk while insinuating that he was milking the system. Yes, he still would have won. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-obama-have-been-elected-if-like-fdr-he-used-a-wheelchair/653453/5 "2013-03-20T15:44:37Z")
FDR couldn’t have concealed his illness without the cooperation of the press. That wouldn’t happen today because it wouldn’t be possible. I think a candidate with a disability similar to FDR’s could be elected as long as there wasn’t a solid reason to think his health would be in jeopardy during his time in office. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-obama-have-been-elected-if-like-fdr-he-used-a-wheelchair/653453/6 "2013-03-20T15:49:04Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > FDR couldn’t have concealed his illness without the cooperation of the press. Not just the press, but almost everyone but Joe Q. Public. One of the hotels in DC was rebuilt near the start of the war, and it included a vehicle lift that enabled the President to be driven, in his armored limo, almost to the ballroom podium. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-obama-have-been-elected-if-like-fdr-he-used-a-wheelchair/653453/7 "2013-03-20T15:50:08Z")
JFK was often on crutches due to his severe back problems, but went to great lengths to avoid being seen in public using them. Then and now, we expect our Presidents to be vigorous and in good health. Being in a wheelchair would not be helpful to Obama, but yes, I think he could still have won. Max Cleland, confined to a wheelchair due to wounds suffered while serving during the Vietnam War, was elected a U.S. senator, FWIW: [Max Cleland - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Cleland) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-obama-have-been-elected-if-like-fdr-he-used-a-wheelchair/653453/8 "2013-03-20T15:55:44Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > JFK was often on crutches due to his severe back problems, but went to great lengths to avoid being seen in public using them. Then and now, we expect our Presidents to be vigorous and in good health. And despite his health and his robust appearance, JFK’s health was terrible. Crutches and back pain were the least of it. > [@Simplicio](#): > > I think so. I don’t think the American public really cares about physical handicaps amongst their politicians. McCain and Dole were both handicapped and while neither man lost, their physical limitations don’t seem to have cost them many votes. I understand the similarities, but injuries from combat might belong in a separate category from debilitating illnesses. And while everybody knew about McCain and Dole’s war injuries, McCain was arguably kind of tight lipped about his history of skin cancer. It hasn’t been a problem for him since 2008 as far as I know, but he was very careful with his medical history during the campaign. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-obama-have-been-elected-if-like-fdr-he-used-a-wheelchair/653453/9 "2013-03-20T16:05:43Z")
I forgot to mention that FDR’s cigarette smoking might keep him from getting elected now. Obama’s smoking habit was pretty well hidden before he was elected. It’s one of those last areas of personal behavior the press won’t jump on. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-obama-have-been-elected-if-like-fdr-he-used-a-wheelchair/653453/10 "2013-03-20T16:10:52Z")
He probably wouldn’t have picked [the same VP](http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/joebiden/youtube/biden-stand-up.htm). Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-obama-have-been-elected-if-like-fdr-he-used-a-wheelchair/653453/11 "2013-03-20T16:22:30Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > WTF, ROTFLMAO? He had the handicap of being half black and still won twice despite all the thinly veiled racial attacks on his religious beliefs and place of birth. Had he been in a wheelchair they would have accused him of faking it and asking him to prove that he couldn’t walk while insinuating that he was milking the system. Yes, he still would have won. [Disabled ethnic?](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TwoferTokenMinority) > [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Max Cleland, confined to a wheelchair due to wounds suffered while serving during the Vietnam War, was elected a U.S. senator, FWIW: [Max Cleland - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Cleland) Interesting…although wiki says that he awarded the Silver Star, and Johnny Public loves a good war wound. However the last 3 elected presidents have been nowhere near a battlefield. I think illness causing them to be confined to a wheelchair would have quite a different perception in the public eye than if they had been paralysed in combat. JFK’s poor health in comparison to his youthful image is an example of what I’m thinking of; even in 1960 he could ‘get away with it’. Now with all the media outlets picking over every candidate they couldn’t hope to hide something like that and not have the electorate scrutinise it. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-obama-have-been-elected-if-like-fdr-he-used-a-wheelchair/653453/12 "2013-03-20T16:33:11Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > He probably wouldn’t have picked [the same VP](http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/joebiden/youtube/biden-stand-up.htm). One can almost imagine the Bidenisms: “Barack and I have walked all over this country together”… “I can’t wait to see Barack bust a move with Michelle at the inaugural ball”… ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-obama-have-been-elected-if-like-fdr-he-used-a-wheelchair/653453/13 "2013-03-20T16:58:32Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > …I understand the similarities, but injuries from combat might belong in a separate category from debilitating illnesses. And while everybody knew about McCain and Dole’s war injuries, McCain was arguably kind of tight lipped about his history of skin cancer. It hasn’t been a problem for him since 2008 as far as I know, but he was very careful with his medical history during the campaign. Paul Tsongas ran into this in 1992. He died on Jan. 18, 1997; had he been elected and then reelected, he would’ve died in office before he even started his second term. [http://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/17/us/tsongas-s-health-privacy-and-the-public-s-rights.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm](http://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/17/us/tsongas-s-health-privacy-and-the-public-s-rights.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm). [http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1992-04-24/news/9202060359\_1\_paul-tsongas-doctors-lymph-node](http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1992-04-24/news/9202060359_1_paul-tsongas-doctors-lymph-node) ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-obama-have-been-elected-if-like-fdr-he-used-a-wheelchair/653453/14 "2013-03-20T17:17:55Z")
Probably long before that - the presidency takes a lot out of you. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-obama-have-been-elected-if-like-fdr-he-used-a-wheelchair/653453/15 "2013-03-20T17:20:27Z")
My mother was born in 1930. She knew that FDR was in a wheelchair, and so did anyone who wanted to acknowledge it. It was very rude back then to talk about such a thing so people did not talk of it openly. > **[Paralytic illness of Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_D._Roosevelt%27s_paralytic_illness#Public_awareness_of_FDR.27s_disability)** > > Franklin D. Roosevelt, later the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 to 1945, began experiencing symptoms of a paralytic illness in 1921 when he was 39 years old. His main symptoms were fevers; symmetric, ascending paralysis; facial paralysis; bowel and bladder dysfunction; numbness and hyperesthesia; and a descending pattern of recovery. He was diagnosed with poliomyelitis and underwent years of therapy, including hydrotherapy at Warm Springs, Georgia. Roosevelt remained paralyzed fr... > [@](#): > > Roosevelt was able to convince many people that he was in fact getting better, which he believed was essential if he was to run for public office again. In private he used a wheelchair. But he was careful never to be seen in it in public, although he sometimes appeared on crutches. He usually appeared in public standing upright, while being supported on one side by an aide or one of his sons. For major speaking occasions, an especially solid lectern was placed on the stage so that he could support himself on it; as a result, in films of his speeches Roosevelt can be observed using his head to make gestures, because his hands were usually gripping the lectern. He would occasionally raise one hand to gesture, but his other hand held the lectern. > > Roosevelt was very rarely photographed while sitting in his wheelchair, and his public appearances were choreographed to avoid the press covering his arrival and departure at public events, which would have shown him getting into or out of a car. When possible, his limousine was driven into a building’s parking garage for his arrivals and departures. On other occasions, his limo would be driven onto a ramp to avoid steps, which Roosevelt was unable to ascend. When that was not practical, the steps would be covered with a ramp with railings, with Roosevelt using his arms to pull himself upward. Likewise, when traveling by train as he often did, Roosevelt often appeared on the rear platform of the presidential railroad car. When he boarded or disembarked, the private car was sometimes shunted to an area of the railroad yard away from the public for reasons of security and privacy. A private rail siding underneath the Waldorf Astoria was also used.[10] > > In keeping with social customs of the time, the media generally treated Roosevelt’s disability as taboo. News stories did not mention it, and editorial cartoonists, favorable and unfavorable, often showed the President with normal mobility. According to famed broadcaster David Brinkley, who was a young White House reporter in World War II, the Secret Service actively interfered with photographers who tried to take pictures of Roosevelt in a wheelchair or being moved about by others. However, there were occasional exceptions.[11] In short, this was social convention, not that the public wasn’t aware, the public pretended it didn’t exist. You might want to see the film “Yankee Doodle Dandy” with James Cagney playing George M. Cohen, who plays Roosevelt. Cagney actually dances as Roosevelt. [Yankee Doodle Dandy - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yankee_Doodle_Dandy) My recollection (I couldn’t review it for this post) is that he does an odd foot dragging thing during the dance ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-obama-have-been-elected-if-like-fdr-he-used-a-wheelchair/653453/16 "2013-03-20T17:28:52Z")
Although I mostly enjoyed the movie, one of my criticisms of _Hyde Park on Hudson_ is that the film showed FDR being carried by an aide - not once, not twice, but three times - in the presence of other people, including King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. I’ve read that FDR and his entourage went to great lengths to keep any outsiders from seeing him like that. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-obama-have-been-elected-if-like-fdr-he-used-a-wheelchair/653453/17 "2013-03-20T17:43:39Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Paul Tsongas ran into this in 1992. He died on Jan. 18, 1997; had he been elected and then reelected, he would’ve died in office before he even started his second term. > > [http://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/17/us/tsongas-s-health-privacy-and-the-public-s-rights.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm](http://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/17/us/tsongas-s-health-privacy-and-the-public-s-rights.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm). > [http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1992-04-24/news/9202060359\_1\_paul-tsongas-doctors-lymph-node](http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1992-04-24/news/9202060359_1_paul-tsongas-doctors-lymph-node) Tsongas lied about his cancer recurrence, plain and simple. There are also people who say JFK might well have died in office had he not been shot in Dallas and been re-elected in 1964, although I don’t know how likely that is. When I said earlier that McCain was tight lipped, I meant he made his medical records available to reporters for a very short period during the campaign and did so under very controlled conditions: a handful of reporters were allowed to review the records for three hours and make no photocopies, among other restrictions. He’d had several bouts with melanoma, although the most recent was bout eight years earlier. ---
**Author:** ![Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ec9cab/32.png) [@Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-obama-have-been-elected-if-like-fdr-he-used-a-wheelchair/653453/18 "2013-03-29T20:18:01Z")
Here in Winnipeg we have a Quadriplegic Member of Parliament. Steven Fletcher. He is a Minister of State and a member of the Cabinet. > **[Steven Fletcher](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Fletcher)** > > Steven Fletcher may refer to: As an MP he could be elected leader of his party and become Prime Minister of Canada.