What Obama Should Read
A president who is a serious reader is of course likely to be shaped by what he reads, and we know a bit about what has been on Obama’s list so far. From interviews, we know that Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls made an impression on him as a young man. His campaign reading list—or at least the books he chose to be seen with on the trail—included Jonathan Alter’s The Defining Moment, Larry Bartels’s Unequal Democracy, Steve Coll’s ... Full Story »
Posted by Kaizar Campwala
I have two problems with this piece, one serious and one not-so-serious. First, serious: I have never thought highly about George W. Bush -- not least because of the flamboyant anti-intellectualism at the core of his political philosophy -- but many people like me have forgotten to be wise about their criticisms of the (almost) former president. Washington Monthly is guilty here. The editors poke fun at Bush's gaffe about reading The Stranger a couple years ago, and the slightest consideration shows it's a pretty vapid way to introduce this story. There's lots of anecdotal evidence that suggests Bush is in fact an avid reader, not the illiterate goon they make him out to be. Of course, this says nothing about what he takes away from the books he reads, nor does it vindicate his botched education legacy or what seems to me like his contempt for the First Amendment. But Atlantic's editors could have been more astute. Second, not-so-serious: Why, of all people, did they choose Rachel Maddow? She seems out of place on this list.