James Frazier has a piece in today’s Washington Times on the favorite movies of our presidential candidates. For what it’s worth, the choices, in the order in which they appear in the article, are:
Herman Cain: The Godfather
Michele Bachmann: Braveheart, “or maybe Saving Private Ryan”
Newt Gingrich: “Probably” Casablanca
Rick Santorum: Field of Dreams
Ron Paul: “I don’t watch many movies”
Gary Johnson: Dr. Zhivago
Mitt Romney: O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Rick Perry: Immortal Beloved
Barack Obama: Casablanca, The Godfather, Lawrence of Arabia, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
I am not sure how much we learn from this, other than that Perry’s pick is the most unexpected and that Paul, typically, is playing a different game than everyone else. I have written before on the movies presidents watch, and found that presidential movie selections are both unpredictable and not necessarily indicative of a president’s public persona. I doubt that anyone would have guessed that Jimmy Carter watched an astounding 480 movies during his one term in office. Still, it is a fun exercise, and good to know that Gingrich and Cain each share a favorite movie with Obama. It will give them something to talk about if they ever run into each other on the campaign trail.