The paragraph is saying that highly successful people will always be able to find some kind of excuse to get out of doing something. In this case, he could've used his paralysed legs as the excuse. If you need any more help feel free to message me, I'm looking for reviews as a new teacher so have reduced rates for a short while. All the best, Matt

I'm guessing it was F D Roosevelt, whose legs were partially paralysed as a result of a disease - maybe poliomyelitis or Gullain-Barré syndrome.

Franklyn Roosevelt had had polio as a child, and his legs were either paralyzed, or atrophied (weak), so he was confined to a wheelchair. Basically, he couldn't use or move his legs, so we call them lifeless (even though technically they are still part of a living body).

He sat in a wheel chair , as he was suffering from a paralytic illness , so his leg did not work anymore or they were " lifeless" . He could have used his illness as excuse for some of his political mistakes.