Normally, I avoid writing anything political. However, I recently learned that presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain are left-handed. This new information throws a glitch in my political position. Why? I'm a lefty, too.

Historically, most right-handed people looked upon lefties as sinister. When I hear and read researchers and historians make comments like: "Left-handed people are an unexplained phenomenon — 10 percent statistical anomalies that have vexed them," I don't think I like this 1692-Salem, Mass. tone.

There's also a gazillion myths associated with the left: If you sleep on the left side of the bed, you'll have a bad day, Hence, waking up on the wrong side of the bed. Oh, no! Recently, my husband asked if I minded sleeping on the left side of the bed. His reason was he could see the TV better from the right side of the bed. I agreed. No wonder I'm cranky.

Our next president of the United States will be the seventh left-handed president in the last 35 years to have made it to the White House. This might sound naive to politically savvy right-handed voters, but this made a difference in how I thought about each of the candidates. On a more favorable side, left-handed people are portrayed as: intelligent, compassionate, perceptive, great communicators, complex reasoners and successful leaders. And left-handers are known to "think outside the box" — McCain proved this when he chose Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate.

Left-handers have had to overcome diversity — it's not easy sitting in a classroom all day and writing papers at a right-handed desk — I know. And neither is having to go to gym and stand at the free throw line, shoot the basketball with your left hand, only to miss and have kids snicker at you.

Many people have tried to correct our so-called impairment; my parents tried. Oh, they never tied my left hand behind my back … that I recall. In fact, they never discussed my left hand, out loud. I often wondered if they spoke about it in private: My mother would say to my father, "We can only hope that one day she'll find a right-handed man and marry him."

My father would nod his head, then say, "I thank my lucky stars that none of my five boys are lefties."

If I ever meet Obama or McCain in person, knowing what I know now, I would excitedly exclaim to both of them, "I'm a lefty, too!" Instinct tells me that all three of us have a lot in common. No matter what our political views may be. In that moment in time, we would become kindred spirits — sharing stories of what it was like growing up in a right-handed world:

"When did you realize you were special?" Obama would ask. "Art class," I'd reply. "Scissors felt unnatural to me. I had to push my thumb and index finger to make the scissors cut and pray I didn't cut off a finger.

He would confide, "For me, it was when I bowled a gutter ball on national television."

Being a compassionate lefty, I'd say, "Don't feel bad, Obama. When I was 12 years old, I played softball. It was the last game of the season. I was up at bat and hit the ball almost out of the park. Sadly, I cost the team the game when I ran to third base instead of first."

McCain, realizing this was a painful admission, would say, "I've never been good at writing my autograph on a baseball."

Growing up no one ever told me not to use my left hand. None encouraged me either. Eventually, I learned to adapt in a right-hand world. I became ambidextrous. I learned to throw a ball, bowl, shoot pool, write and even eat right-handed. When my right-handed husband and I go out to dinner with other couples, sometimes we'll end up sitting next to each other at the table. Lefties are extremely accommodating, so I will hold my cutlery in my right hand. I once said to him, "Did you know that Benjamin Franklin was ambidextrous?"

"No."

"He signed the Declaration of Independence with his left hand when he could have signed it with his right."

"Yeah. So."

"You should try it sometime."

To find out more about Mimi Kopulos and read her past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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