The Pendragon's Hall

The evidence keeps pouring in: people are morons--liberal, conservative, it doesn't matter. The latest flap is not over John Edwards' sick manipulation of his son's death, his father's poverty and his wife's illness; it's not over the fact that Obama couldn't name three American allies (which, as I remember, was a pretty big deal in 2000 when Bush couldn't name three tinpot African dictators). No, it's over two things: Giuliani being framed for something he didn't say, and Romney liking a novel by a Scientologist. Anyone who reads this page regularly knows I have as much affection for Giuliani as for Bill Clinton, but he is not guilty of "the politics of fear." He has been quoted as saying that if a Democrat won the White House, there would be more terror attacks like 9/11. The Democrats immediately chided him for trying to scare people into voting for him. Turns out Giuliani did not say that--he noted, quite rightly, that electing a Democrat meant going on the defensive in the War on Terror, instead of trying to get them before they get us like Bush and the Republicans have tried to do. He never said there would be more terror attacks. The media should get htis upset over Clinton--her headlines read: "Clinton reaches out to gays," "Hillary opens up on the campaign trail," ad nauseum.

But the Romney thing is way out of proportion. I was watching the Fox News interview, not knowing it was going to turn into anything. They asked him what his favorite book was. He said he liked the novels of L. Ron Hubbard, who happens to be a scientologist. He added in the same breath that he does not approve of Hubbard's religion at all. And the right-wing press went nuts! Coulter refers to Romney as "ridiculous" on her webpage and cites some nutgroup called "The Plank" where everyone jumps on Romney's case for saying what his favorite novel is. They say he should have told them it was "The Da Vinci Code." Given the choice, I'd have to say the Scientologist's humans fighting aliens story is less disturbing. So Romney likes science fiction (I don't). Essentially, what conservatives are saying with this "controversy" is that (a) Romney should have lied and told us he liked some other book because that would make us feel better about him, and (b) that his choice of reading material is as important as his positions on the issues. I don't know who Coulter and her other hacks are backing for the presidency--I notice Giuliani doesn't show up much in her writing these days--but I would like to know what they think is important. Is all-around conservatism and a decent, upright man for the office important, or do we turn to a scumbag because we like his favorite book better? And what is Giuliani's favorite book?

For the record, my favorite book is "Watership Down." Go crazy!