Lest America divide too neatly into red/blue, NASCAR/latte blocs, one constituency can be counted on to muck up the dichotomy. People with disabilities defy political pigeonholing. The group considers itself an oppressed minority, and its civil rights agenda grew out of 1960s radicalism.

“After eight years,” Woody Allen once quipped, “I got up from the couch one day and offered my analyst a draw.

Seven years ago, Joseph Barczak’s daily consumption of rum averaged half a gallon. Divorced and living in his parents’ basement, he says, he “couldn’t concentrate on anything, except getting the alcohol and drinking it.” One morning he had an unforgettable dream.