What Does Handedness Say About A President?

Whether you're right- or left-handed, never fear — you've experienced the electric thrill of knowing that your handedness has been represented in the highest office in the land. We've had a pretty surprising run of left-handed presidents in the White House over the past several decades, in spite of the fact that lefties are believed to comprise just 10 percent of the general population. But it hasn't always been that way. Let's take a look at the handednesses of our last 10 presidents.

From President Obama right now to clear back in the JFK years, we've had a smattering of all three types of handedness — left, right, and the coolest and rarest of them all, ambidexterity. Given the recent run of southpaws we've seen, it's easy to conclude that they might have some sort of secret inside track on the pulse of the nation. But as you can see with even a brief look back, this wasn't always the case; the presidency used to be a right-hander's game.

Here are the last 10 presidents of the United States, along with their handednesses. Of course, it's important to remember that not all of these guys were elected. Ford and Johnson both ascended to the presidency from the vice presidency, by way of resignation and assassination, respectively.

1. President Barack Obama

Just as the Republicans have always been yelling, Obama is a lefty through and through.

2. President George W. Bush

Since he's sandwiched between two left-handed Democrats, you just knew Bush would be a righty, didn't you?

3. President Bill Clinton

Clinton was the first left-handed Democrat in the White House since Harry Truman left office in 1953.

4. President George H.W. Bush

The elder Bush was the first left-hander to start this dominant run we've been on for the last few decades. Since 1988, three of our four presidents have favored their left.

5. President Ronald Reagan

There are indications that Reagan was actually ambidextrous — that rare two-handed skill that anybody who's ever broken a hand feels pretty jealous of.

6. President Jimmy Carter

Sadly, Carter yet again breaks up this left-handed party. He was the most recent right-handed Democratic president.

7. President Gerald Ford

Ford, like Reagan, was a blessed individual as far as his handedness was concerned. He was also ambidextrous — though how he described it was "left-handed sitting down and right-handed standing up."

8. President Richard Nixon

This is probably the most predictable entry in this list. Who on Earth could ever mistake Richard Milhous Nixon for a lefty? Nixon was in fact right-handed.

9. President Lyndon Johnson

As he stepped into the presidency after the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963, America was given yet another right-handed president in Lyndon Johnson.

10. President John F. Kennedy

Kennedy was yet another right-handed Democratic president, which seem to have been in far greater supply in the 1960s and 1970s than they are nowadays.