The GOPs Best and Brightest
by digby
This is just too funny:
The candidates for chairman of the Republican National Committee are a literate bunch. And when asked to name their favorite book, their answers were revealing, to say the least. Maria Cino’s favorite is the classic To Kill a Mockingbird. Reince Priebus named The Reagan Diaries as his first choice. And current RNC Chairman Michael Steele’s favorite is War and Peace. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” Steele recited — which is actually a line from Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities. But the real highlight of the exchange came when Ann Wagner responded to the question, saying, “Probably my kitchen table.” What was she referring to exactly? Her favorite bar, apparently, which she thought she was being asked. Her favorite book, though, is George W. Bush’s new memoir, Decision Points.
One of the things I like so much about Republican politicians is how they constantly top themselves. Back in 2000 we thought they’d hit the low point when the GOP presidential candidates were asked who were their favorite political philosophers and Junior came out with this:
GOV. GEORGE W. BUSH (Republican, Texas): Christ, because he changed my heart.
Unidentified Man: I think that the viewer would like to know more on how he has changed your heart.
GOV. BUSH: Well, if they don’t know, it’s going to be hard to explain. When you turn your heart and your life over to Christ, when you accept Christ as the savior, it changes your heart. It changes your life. And that’s what happened to me.
The questions are getting easier and the answers dumber.
Update: Sigh. I wasn’t sneering at Bush’s religion. I was sneering at the fact that he answered a question about how Christ changed his heart with the logic of a four year old. Would have been too much for him to actually relate how his relationship with religion and Jesus informs his politics? Or are we supposed to just sit there and applaud when our political leaders speak in infantile riddles because it’s “sneering” to suggest that they should be at least minimally able to explain their reasoning, values and belief system? I guess that’s rude. Good to know.
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