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ruveyn
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08 Feb 2009, 11:07 am

Nutterbug wrote:
On the eve of the US election, I'm left pondering what the likelihood of an Aspie ever becoming president of the US or the leader of any other country in the world is. I think that would be an achievement that is even more monumental than either a black man or a woman becoming Prez or VP.

Unfortunately for us, it seems personal charisma and style are at least at crucial as sound and practical policies and solutions to the country's problems and issues.


One already did. Thomal Jefferson..

ruveyn



Nutterbug
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08 Feb 2009, 11:29 am

If true, I'm guessing he had to have been a mild case at most.



mistercheech
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09 Feb 2009, 3:50 am

well, nixon got in...



SilverPikmin
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20 Feb 2009, 4:30 pm

I very much doubt that a diagnosed AS person would be elected. Undiagnosed, maybe. But disability discrimination is one of mankind's deepest prejudices. Perhaps when attitudes change it would happen--but it's likely that the style of government will have changed by then.



Sand
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20 Feb 2009, 8:38 pm

Since a vicious idiot was recently elected twice to be US president I doubt an Aspie would have a tough time getting in.



twoshots
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20 Feb 2009, 8:41 pm

Charisma is a big factor.


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NonlinearLuke
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23 Feb 2009, 12:15 am

Its possibly that a past president such as Jefferson could have had Aspergers. But currently it would be impossible for a person with AS to belected to the office of president. This is because the media. The charm, likability and social skills of a candidate are how the American public currently chooses their president. People with AS tend to be less skilled at presenting themselves.



ZEGH8578
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23 Feb 2009, 12:18 am

presidents have NO need for charisma. its a bonus yes, but no requirement:

Image

^^^ has the charisma of a dried crab exoskeleton



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23 Feb 2009, 2:05 am

Nutterbug wrote:
Because media appeal these days is everything?


In all western democratic states: Political issues are today so complex that the majority of voters just don't have a clue. They lack interest, knowledge and perhaps also intelligence to understand even the basics. But voters make decisions.

On which grounds they decide: On the impression the candidates make. They want someone how is like themselves (or at least can pretend this way). an Aspie will never be this way and so he will never will get up the list.

Also: Politics is for a god part played in back rooms, in same circles in which unwritten rules of influence and suggestion are more important than the formal rules in constitutions, statutes etc.

I would not say that Aspies are excluded from power, but they will play in current set-up a role in front line, more as the first adviser of a politician. One problem of the current system is that politicians are not selected by their knowledge or intelligence, but by their ability to sell themselves. Therefore they need people how can evaluate and analyse facts.



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23 Feb 2009, 5:04 am

Hurricane_Delta wrote:
I've heart that Jefferson may have had Asperger's Syndrome, to throw that out there.


Anyone I like may have had Asperger's Syndrome. :)



Long_Beard
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28 Feb 2009, 8:36 am

It is quite possible that the USA has actually got an Aspie president right now. Isn't anybody on this board aware of the fact that Barack Obama himself has an autistic spectrum disorder?

I don't know exactly what he's got, and I know ASD represents a wide range of conditions, and that Asperger's is just one of them, but if Obama is not an Aspie, then his brain is, at least, probably wired in a similar way to an Aspie. Logically, surely this means that America has a good chance of electing an Aspie president in the future, because the current one is definitely on the autistic spectrum. Who knows, maybe his ASD is in fact Asperger's itself.

I think we are in good company, and some of us can be geniuses, as proven by the likes of Einstein, Bill Gates, etc. Obama's ASD would seem to be very relevant to this topic, so I'm a bit surprised nobody here has mentioned it before now.



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02 Mar 2009, 4:16 pm

Hurricane_Delta wrote:
I've heart that Jefferson may have had Asperger's Syndrome, to throw that out there.
I read somewhere that when JFK was in the White House with a large group of nobel prize winners he said something along the lines of
"This might be the greatest gathering of human talent and knowledge in the White House ever, except when Thomas Jefferson dined alone."
That just goes to show how awesome some aspies have the potential to be.



warface
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02 Mar 2009, 8:34 pm

I don't think the idea of an Aspie leader is implausible at all. All they need is a special interest in politics and a strong mind.

Long_Beard wrote:
It is quite possible that the USA has actually got an Aspie president right now. Isn't anybody on this board aware of the fact that Barack Obama himself has an autistic spectrum disorder?

I don't know exactly what he's got, and I know ASD represents a wide range of conditions, and that Asperger's is just one of them, but if Obama is not an Aspie, then his brain is, at least, probably wired in a similar way to an Aspie. Logically, surely this means that America has a good chance of electing an Aspie president in the future, because the current one is definitely on the autistic spectrum. Who knows, maybe his ASD is in fact Asperger's itself.

I think we are in good company, and some of us can be geniuses, as proven by the likes of Einstein, Bill Gates, etc. Obama's ASD would seem to be very relevant to this topic, so I'm a bit surprised nobody here has mentioned it before now.


Which aspects of his personality do you think are AS???


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ruennsheng
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03 Mar 2009, 4:57 am

Aspies can be leaders! But their minds need to be strong! We'll wait and see, man!



Long_Beard
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03 Mar 2009, 11:17 am

warface wrote:
Which aspects of his personality do you think are AS???


I read that Obama has AS in a recent e-mail from a regional Aspie parents' support group in my area. It was only mentioned briefly, with no proof. I put "obama autistic" into Google, and have been trying to find specific evidence for this, but no luck so far. I don't know enough about his personality to guess whether he may be on the spectrum. His agenda highly values people with ASD's, but politicians' actions are rarely consistent with their words.



warface
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03 Mar 2009, 12:36 pm

Long_Beard wrote:
warface wrote:
Which aspects of his personality do you think are AS???


I read that Obama has AS in a recent e-mail from a regional Aspie parents' support group in my area. It was only mentioned briefly, with no proof. I put "obama autistic" into Google, and have been trying to find specific evidence for this, but no luck so far. I don't know enough about his personality to guess whether he may be on the spectrum. His agenda highly values people with ASD's, but politicians' actions are rarely consistent with their words.


I've been listening to his autobiography and nothing about his childhood suggests AS to me. It's a decent listen though


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