Looking into the more ridiculous side of politics and politicians today…
Wrapped Up in Books – Belle and Sebastian
This AP article about the presidential candidates’ response to the question “What is the last work of fiction you’ve read?” A few comments:
Delaware Sen. Joe Biden: “Runaway Jury” by John Grisham. Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd: “The Broker” by John Grisham.
I just can’t imagine ever voting for someone who responded to this question with a John Grisham novel.
Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich: “Einstein’s Dreams” by Alan Lightman.
At least he picked an interesting book.
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson: “The administration’s energy plan.”
Now that’s funny. You gotta hand it to him, he may have bombed in the first debate, but he’s definitely winning the humor race thanks to comments like that and the best set of ads, by far, for the new campaign:
New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton: “Team of Rivals” by Doris Kearns Goodwin
I’ll defer to my friend Scott for his response to this one:
“This is a historical analysis of Abraham Lincoln‘s cabinet and how he filled it with people who disagreed with him
so
a) does Hillary agree with John Bolton that Abraham Lincoln *obviously* surrounded himself with yes men (Bolton made a serious ass of himself on the Daily Show about this)
b) is she making a nod to the Howard Dean playbook, doubling her news exposure by answering a question “almost, but not entirely unlike” the one that was asked (book of Job, anyone?)
or
c) does she not believe in Abraham Lincoln???”
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Speaking of people unable to distinguish between fiction and reality, how about this comment from Mitt Romney:
“In France, for instance, I’m told that marriage is now frequently contracted in seven-year terms where either party may move on when their term is up. How shallow and how different from the Europe of the past.”
How different indeed! As pointed out by Ana Marie Cox, the best guess anyone has about where this crazy comment came from is that such contracts are “a plot point in a novel by fellow Mormon Orson Scott Card…a fictionalization of the Book of Mormon set in outer space.” I read that book, too, and just let me tell you, it’s no Ender’s Game.
Obsidian Wings has an update:
“Romney’s spokesman has “clarified” matters by saying that Romney actually meant to say not that the French have marriages that last seven years, which is false, but that they have marriages that last only three months, which is also false.
That’s a relief!”
And while we’re on the subject of weird statements from Romney, how about him declaring his favorite book is Battlefield Earth? For someone who wants to make Mormonism seem mainstream, I have to say that picking a (not even very good) book by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard is probably not really the way to go.
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Get Me Off This Fucking Island! – Chin Up Chin Up
Another silly question with responses that reveal a little more than expected…the AP asks about desert island necessities (via Political Wire). Everyone else has responses of 4 or 5 words (a book, my wife, etc.) and then Obama comes along: “Other than my wife and my kids, an inanimate object I would have to have would probably be a good book.” Now, I love Obama, but can’t someone let him know that it’s sometimes okay to have a short answer?
Also, by far the best, and most pragmatic, answer was from (surprisingly) Tom Tancredo. His response: “boat.” I bet everyone else feels stupid for not thinking of that one.
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Dennis Kucinich sure is goofy looking.
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John Dickerson, from Slate, talking about how to improve the debates: “The MSNBC logo on stage at the first Democratic debate was so large it could have attracted space aliens (and, depending on your view of Mike Gravel, may have succeeded).”
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Finally, from Political Wire, all kinds of fascinating things about the various candidates on the Facebook