This spring, a friend of mine excitedly approached me with news. He had seen footage of the governor signing a bill, and his immediate thought was, "He looks just like Jeremy!"
Now, it's true that New York Governor David A. Paterson and I are both legally blind. And I'm pretty sure I do look like this when I sign stuff:
(image from the Albany Times Union)
Still, I'm pretty sure I don't put my head that close. Governor Paterson's vision is considerably worse than mine; he's completely blind in one eye, and the other eye is much more impaired than either of mine. Also, as far as looking like me goes... well, maybe we're at that point of racial equality where Caucasians and African-Americans can be mistaken for each other. I'll be more convinced if Obama wins.
I am definitely thrilled to have a legally blind governor, and one who consistently speaks up fro the rights of the disabled. No other politicians speaks as eloquently or as often about unemployment among the blind and deaf, and no one sets a better example of how someone with an unmistakable difference from "normal" can still succeed.
Granted, he didn't take the traditional path to the governorship -- we have Eliot Spitzer to thank for that -- but I'm still proud. He's also been a leader for fiscal responsibility in the state, which has been sorely lacking... and with the current crisis underway, it's probably a good thing that he convinced the legislators to cut spending.
The best part for me is that now I can legitimately claim to see better than the governor of New York State.
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