Several people, speaking to me privately, have expressed a certain apprehension about David Paterson’s promotion to the highest office of our state. They wonder how someone who is legally blind can be up to doing whatever it is that governors do. Aren’t there a lot of important papers to look at, they ask? What if there’s a natural disaster and he is obliged to come and inspect the damage? Won’t he just look silly being led around and shown things he can’t see properly?
I reply that there is no reason for concern. A governor can easily ask an aide to read him any important papers he finds lying on his desk. “What if he doesn’t notice them there?” someone unacquainted with the workings of statecraft might ask. The answer is he can ask another aide, or even the same one if that one's not too busy reading, to keep an eye out for important papers lying around that the governor might need to attend to.
As for viewing disaster areas, it is well known that governors who lose their sight develop a keener sense of hearing in compensation. So although Governor Paterson may not be able to take in much visually on such occasions, he will be sure to overhear many things that a sighted governor would fail to catch, and which may well give him a better picture of his constituents’ concerns than anything said to him directly. He can also be expected to show a special sensitivity to the issue of noise pollution, which is a big one for our state.
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