Monday, October 30, 2006

Curiouser and curiouser

The new hot trend in politics? Criticizing politicians based on the content of the fiction they've written.

We saw hints of this some time ago when Scooter Libby's novel The Apprentice became a news item right about the time of his indictiment. More recently, George Allen, a Virginia candidate for the U.S. Senate, has attacked his opponent, Jim Webb, for "demeaning women" and "dehumanizing women, men and even children" in Webb's bestselling Vietnam War novels. Webb has responded that Lynne Cheney has written some pretty dirty stuff as well.

Feel like some reading?

Lost Soldiers by Jim Webb
The Apprentice by Lewis (Scooter) Libby
Sisters by Lynne Cheney (Cheney has prevented her publisher from re-releasing Sisters before the 2006 elections, so if you can find a copy, you'll pay a premium for it. The complete text is, apparently, available here.)
And let's not forget Bill O'Reilly's classic, deeply weird novel Those Who Trespass

Update—10:25a.m. Slate has a handy-dandy "Match the porn with the politician" quiz!

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