Get FREE NRO Newsletters

 

June 11 Issue  |  Subscribe  |  Renew

Close

New on NRO . . .

The Corner

The one and only.

Print   |  Text
 

From the RNC Chair Candidates’ Debate

The candidates had some interesting answers to the question of what their favorite book was. In order, their answers were:

● Reince Priebus: The Reagan Diaries.

● Ann Wagner: “My kitchen table.” (When told that the question was “favorite book,” not “favorite bar,” she amended her answer to George W. Bush’s Decision Points.)

● Saul Anuzis: The Law.

● Maria Cino: To Kill a Mockingbird.

● Michael Steele: War and Peace. (He then said, oddly, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” — which is, of course, from A Tale of Two Cities.)

New on The Corner. . .


COMMENTS   13

EXPAND  

Alex 0^O
   01/03/11 15:12

OK, Steele pretending to like Tolstoy but confusing him for Dickens is further evidence that Steele's Republican career is affirmative action reductio ad absurdum: there's no way he would be RNC chair but for tokenism.

Seriously, "War and Peace" is supposedly his favorite book? Instead he should read Martin Luther King "The Case Against Tokenism."

Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse
   01/03/11 15:39

I love how Wagner endorses Bush's book right after the committing the greatest Bushism we've seen in two years.

Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse
   01/03/11 15:55

Is it wrong for me to guess that Steele said "Pun intended" when he became aware of his mistake?

Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse
   01/03/11 16:04

So Cino is the only honest one in the bunch?

Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse
   01/03/11 16:20

"To Kill a Mockingbird"? Really? An ok book, for sure, but a tad lefty, isn't it, for a RNC Chair candidate to declare as her favorite? Hmm.
Not one said the Bible?
Steele's was just an embarrassing answer.
Wagner should have said, "What was the question, again?" before assuming she was being asked about a bar.

Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse
NealDewing
   01/03/11 16:35

Yup, things are looking good for us y'all.

To be fair, though, I can never answer that question. My favorite book is usually whatever I'm currently reading or the last thing I finished...

Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse
   01/03/11 17:11

I'd love to hear someone say at a debate that a question about their favorite movie or favorite book or favorite color or favorite Teletubby or whatever is too stupid to merit a response.

Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse
   01/03/11 17:11

A savvy answer would have been "Mere Christianity."

Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse
TJN
   01/03/11 18:10

My god, what an embarrassment. Anuzis is the only one who gave a decent answer.

Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse
   01/03/11 18:33

I would have thought at least one of them would have given one of Bill Bennett's books a nod.....

Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse
Someone who hates Republicans
   01/03/11 19:54

Michael Steele originally thought he had joined the Democratic Party. Years later, upon realizing his mistake, he simply said "screw it."

That's my theory on Michael Steele. Why he was elected chairman? Tokenism.

Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse
   01/04/11 06:46

Anuzis should get bonus points for picking "the Law" by the great French philosopher Frederic Bastiat. It should be required reading. A great book. Here is an audio version of it: External Link 

Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse
   01/04/11 09:56

I hate it when candidates are asked the book question. They always respond untruthfully. They either want to make themselves look smart by picking something in the "literature" category or make them look conservative or liberal by picking something from the "historical" category. It drives me insane. I would love to see a serious candidate for office admit that he/she likes to read for purely escapism reasons and answers with a Clancy novel or something of a similar vein.

Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse

Add a Comment

Already Registered? Log In Here.


The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.


* Designates a required field.
© National Review Online 2012
All Rights Reserved.
Subscriptions
NR / Print
NR / Digital

Gift Subscriptions
NR / Print
NR / Digital
NR Apps
iPhone/iPad
Android

NRO Apps
iPhone
Support Us
Donate
Media Kit
Contact