George Likes to Read
Bush has entered a book-reading competition with Karl Rove, his political adviser. White House aides say the president has read 60 books so far this year (while the brainy Rove, to Bush’s competitive delight, has racked up only 50).
So, now we’re supposed to believe that George W. Bush reads 60 books in 8 months? I call bullshit (and so does The Carpetbagger):
C’mon. We’re talking about a guy who’s supposed to be folksy and simple. It’s an image the White House has worked hard to cultivate over the years. The president seems to enjoy it — otherwise he wouldn’t openly mock people with PhDs.
The fact that the White House gang is experimenting with a new persona — Bush, the reader — is embarrassing. He’s not supposed to be about book learnin’; he’s about governing by instinct and relying on the advice of educated people who tell him what he wants to hear. Switching gears now is not only literally unbelievable, it’s pointless. The die is already cast.
I deal with books for a living. I have giant stacks of them sitting on my desk, on carts, on shelves all over my office. I am surrounded by books and read quite a few in my spare time, too. Some might call me bookish, but then I’m a librarian and it comes with the territory. And there’s no way I could read 60 books in 8 months. Last year, I was trying to match my friend Jenny. We were each trying to read 50 books in a year. I think she made it, but she was counting books on CD that she “read” in the car to work. I don’t listen to books on CD and was unemployed for five months and I still only got to about 30.
And you’re trying to tell me that an incurious mental featherweight, who openly disdains education and mocks intellectuals who also happens to be the ostensible leader of the free world, conducting a multi front war has the time to read twice as many books in 3/4 the time? No fucking way.
Hat tip to Noz.
August 24th, 2006 at 9:38 pm
And one more thing, it’s a fucking insult to those of us who do love books and like to read. “Oh yeah, I read 60 books. No big deal.”
This man just wants to shit all over everything that culture and civilization stands for and it drives me up the frickin’ wall!
August 24th, 2006 at 11:00 pm
Nah. Simple answer. Kiddie lit. At 32-60 pages each. mostly pictures, even GW can make it through two a week.
August 25th, 2006 at 8:50 pm
They didn’t specify what kind of books. Some books advise you to “close the cover before striking”, while others feature people who wear capes and a lot of pictures.
I wish life would allow me to read a book a week.
August 29th, 2006 at 7:54 am
It’s true, I did manage to “read” over 50 books last year. But, as you say, about half of them were audio books (unabridged! fiction and non-fiction! not just mysteries!). Maybe good ol’ George is listening to books in his sleep and counting them that way.