"Do you also make fun of people in wheelchairs?" [UPDATE: Johnson Apologizes]

The National Stuttering Association responds to top Bob McDonnell endorser Sheila Johnson mocking Creigh Deeds for stuttering.

Do you also make fun of people in wheelchairs, or do you believe that stuttering is the only disability it's okay to ridicule?

The fact is that stuttering is a brain-function disorder that's mostly physiological rather than psychological, and is often genetic in origin. It has nothing to do with intelligence, temperament or leadership ability. Stuttering affects 1 percent of the population, including 77,000 residents of Virginia.

People who stutter have succeeded in all walks of life and include actors (James Earl Jones), business leaders (Jack Welch), journalists (John Stossel) and politicians such as Winston Churchill, Vice President Joe Biden and Congressman Frank Wolf (R-Virginia).

There is no cure for stuttering, but most people who stutter can be helped by speech therapy and support groups such as the local chapters of the National Stuttering Association. Unfortunately, many people are unaware of the facts about stuttering. Surveys show that eight out of 10 children who stutter are teased or bullied about their stuttering.

By the way, International Stuttering Awareness Day is Oct. 22. People and organizations around the world will be showcasing the facts about stuttering to educate the public about this disorder. (We hope Sheila Johnson will be listening.)

I agree, I hope Sheila Johnson will be listening. More importantly, I hope the McDonnell campaign will start listening to all the people who are hurt, offended and outraged at Sheila Johnson's nasty, insensitive, uncalled-for mocking of Creigh Deeds (and really all people who have speech impediments). I hope the McDonnell campaign will stop defending the indefensible and instead will denounce Johnson for mocking Deeds. Finally, I hope the McDonnell campaign will stop trying to "blame the victim" by claiming - with breathtaking chutzpah - that it's the Deeds campaign which is somehow attacking Sheila Johnson. What next, it was Michael J. Fox's fault that Rush Limbaugh mocked him because he had Parkinson's Disease?

UPDATE: Sheila Johnson has apologized, saying "Two weeks ago I made reference to Creigh Deeds' inability to clearly communicate effective solutions to the serious problems facing Virginia. I shouldn't have done it in the manner in which I did and for that I apologize for any offense he, or others, may have taken." Good for her. Now what about the McDonnell campaign, which reacted by accusing the Deeds campaign of "attack [ing] a prominent supporter of both Governor Tim Kaine and President Barack Obama?"