See Shrub read

According to that pillar of probity, Karl Rove, it seems the soon-to-be-ex-President is quite the bookworm. The claim is that Shrub has read lots and lots of books—apparently including many that don’t involve coloring inside the lines—during his presidency.

According to Rove (and we know we can believe him, don’t we?), Bush read 95 books in 2006; 51 in 2007 and was closing in on 40 last year. And they’re not lightweight titles: 58 of the 95 were non-fiction; the fiction included books by Michael Crichton and Albert Camus.

Oh, really? I wonder if you gave him a quiz how much he’d be able to deconstruct of his consumption?

The Washington Post’s Richard Cohen analyzes the reading—his point being that, while an impressive list, it’s really narrow and serves only to reinforce Bush’s preconceived notions, not expand his horizons.

What bothers me is the idea that the burdens of being the Leader of the Free World are so light that Bush has time to read to this alleged extent (Although I suppose it goes along with the number of vacation days—879 as of March—Bush has taken while in office.)

To put it into perspective, in 2006 I read 157 books, in 2007 68 and last year 70. (Yes, I do keep a log.) The vast preponderance is non-fiction; and the only fiction I tend to read is detective novels.

But I’m not trying to ensure domestic tranquility and provide for the common defense.

Oh, wait—that’s in the Constitution, isn’t it? No wonder Bush had all that reading time…