David Paterson to Become First Legally Blind Governor of NY on Monday

From The New York Times (March 14):
 

(op-ed contributor)

The Vision Thing
By STEPHEN KUUSISTO
Iowa City

WHEN David Paterson takes the oath of office in Albany on Monday, he will not only become the third African-American governor since Reconstruction, he will also be the first legally blind chief state executive. I think it’s a safe bet that Governor Paterson’s visual impairment will be harder for the public to understand than his race.

Blindness is often thought of as an either-or condition: a person can see or he can’t. Terms like “low vision” or “legal blindness” are mysterious. Spotting me with my guide dog in Grand Central Terminal when I was in New York recently, a stranger asked: “How blind are you? I mean, you don’t look blind.” I told him I can see colors and fog. “Oh,” he said with obvious puzzlement, “colors and fog.”...

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