Will there ever be an ASD President of the USA?

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With all the historic amazement of there being a possibility of there being a black President or a woman President (now if McCain has a heart attack or something), what about someone on the Autism spectrum?

Do you think it will ever happen? Have we had Aspie or Autie Prez's in the past? Sorry for the limitations of this poll, there are so many otions we don't have room to cover, so post what you think...

On a side note, I can't believe it's taken this long for there to be a black or woman president and that people are actually still bent out of shape about the possibility in 2008!

But looking at science fiction movies, it's a bit scary... If you guys elect a black president, the Earth's gonna get hit by an asteroid - and if a woman comes from VP up to the top job we're mostly all gonna get wiped out by the Cylons!

It's been known Thomas Jefferson might have had AS.

"I don't see why not, we've had a few Presidents with much worse mental difficulties!"

Such as the current one.

Maybe a female aspie, but even then I doubt it.

An aspie male would have as much luck getting votes as they have getting laid, for exactly the same reason.

The Wraith will find this prey planet first.

You all can vote for me. Just put my name on the ballot, and I'll be there (the people can change the US constitution to allow non-citizens to run).

Of note, global thermonuclear war will start soon after I'm elected (I like destruction and devastation, and apply that to my indifference to people due to a lack of empathy...).

Never, Unfortunately. Politics in the US is based on popularity and nothing more. Aspies tend to not be all that popular as compared to other people.

There was this program on a while back (like, years back)... I don't remember anything from it, except it was about Lincoln, and my gran was going on and on about how it said he had aspergers. *Shrug* I don't know if it was true or not, though.

voted Of course there'll be an ASD President... ME!! !

well I'll be leading a revolution when it REALLY gets bad (economy, oil peak, etc). Hehehe time to smash a LOT of Social BS and there's plenty of disaffected fringe, taboo, etc movements I'll ally with and bring to the forefront. f**k the Mainstream!

I do think it possible that someone with AS could run and win. Probably their campaign team would have to manage certain things and coach them some (i.e., compensate for or arrange things to avoid their sensory issues coming to light, coach them on and practice eye contact, etc.). Nonetheless, it's possible. It's also possible that due to lack of social inhibition and intense concentration associated with AS, a candidate with the condition might be more willing to be definite in their stances on the issues (something American politics is clearly lacking in many cases) and will actually get things done more if elected.

However, I do think that it will be more difficult than it was for, say, Thomas Jefferson or Abraham Lincoln (both of whom were mentioned earlier in the thread) to get elected. The reason is mass media. When only a small circle of people know what you're really like, and people hundreds of miles away or even in the next town might not even know what you look like, let alone how you act, then it's easier to get the Presidency (more or less...) based on merit. However, when you get the ability to get a candidate on tape and show what they're "really" like to people all over the country, all over the world for that matter, those personal details aren't as easy to conceal - especially when people WANT to know everything about a candidate, however trivial, be it what designer clothing they're wearing, what their spouse is like, how tall they are or if they ever did drugs.

Probably in the modern era FDR couldn't get elected - even though he managed to survive media coverage at the time of his election, it was mostly due to the limited technology, and because the voyeuristic paparazzi culture we now have hadn't evolved yet. Depending on how it was managed, getting someone with a cognitive disorder in the White House could be easier or harder than getting someone in a wheelchair to be President - on the one hand, if well-concealed or for the most part overcome, a mental condition isn't as noticeable, on the other hand people generally have more sympathy for the physically disabled than they do for people whose impairment isn't visible. This doesn't make it impossible, however. Just harder than it might have been at other points in history.

Interesting opinions, I'm glad.

I see in particular what BokeKaeru is saying. And there is also the trust issues. I think people would more likely entrust their child to someone who is paralysed from the neck down than someone with AS because the little they know about it adds up to "that's a brain thing, isn't it?"

So how many people will entrust their country to someone with something that most people seem to associate with Rainman or at best, that guy on Boston Legal.

I don't know... A lot of politics these days is to do with spin & communication with the masses, so maybe someone with an ASD would struggle here.. but then most politicians have their speeches written for them.

If George W Bush has managed 2 terms in office whilst sounding totally clueless all the time, why not someone with an ASD? Admittedly he's funded to the eyeballs and there's a *possibility* of nepotism but again, why couldn't someone with an ASD have the necessary connections in high places?

*shrugs*

Before I say anything, the "Bush is ret*d" jokes are getting old. Fast. Hell, they were old before they began! He doesn't have a serious mental handicap, no matter how much we joke about it.

Anyway, I think it's possible that someone with an ASD could become President ^_^ They would need some social skills training and such, but in the end, I think I'd be a lot more satisfied with an autistic president than otherwise!

I think we came awfully close with Al Gore. (Just my personal theory about him).