Mitt Romney's favorite novel

[Ichingcarpenter]

“What’s your favorite novel?” is a perennial campaign question, the answer to which presumably gives insight into leadership.


When asked his favorite novel in an interview shown yesterday on the Fox News Channel, Mitt Romney pointed to “Battlefield Earth,” a novel by L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology. That book was turned into a film by John Travolta, a Scientologist.



“I’m not in favor of his religion by any means,” Mr. Romney, a Mormon, said. “But he wrote a book called ‘Battlefield Earth’ that was a very fun science-fiction book.” Asked about his favorite book, Mr. Romney cited the Bible.

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/04/30/romney-favors-hubbard-novel/

See also Roger Ebert's take on this and the movie

http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/literature/what-fascinates-me-here-is.html

[JI7]

1. i agree with the person who said he was honest and tried to make up for it by lying

and saying the bible is his favorite book.

[dimbear]

2. Lord Elron is pleased. Xenu is pleased. Sci Fi fans are not. n/t

[ellisonz]

3. OMFG n/t

[JCMach1]

4. Oddly makes him seem a little more human... hey, he likes pulp Sci-Fi

ummm

really bad pulp sci-fi...

...ummm, ok maybe that just makes him a little more creepy...

[customerserviceguy]

5. What he likes

are fake, recently made up religions. Mormonism is full of stuff about planets, too, it was invented about the time that telescopes were being developed to find Uranus and Neptune. Mitt's religion teaches him that he'll have his own planet in the afterlife, and they even go as far as naming a specific planet that their invisible skyfather lives on.

[JCMach1]

13. Can't trash Mormonism as some of my ancestors were among that earliest crew...

Mormonism is not all bad... in fact, there are some really good aspects to it.

However, notice I said my 'ancestors' were Mormons. I didn't include myself. We have been clear of that lot for 2 generations.

But yeah, L Ron Hubbard... good for a quick read when you are bored and 15.

[customerserviceguy]

14. I've known quite a few Mormons over the years

None here, but a bunch of them out in the Pacific Northwest, where they probably make up 3-5% of the population. Their religion is infused with American frontier values, and some of those ideas are good ones, like self-reliance combined with the willingness to help one's neighbor. Generally, they are scrupulously honest, that's why Howard Hughes would hire only Mormons to work for him when he was in his paranoid stage.

But they don't make really good drinking buddies.

[JCMach1]

15. Literacy, artisanship and real love of children

Some of the kindest ladies I ever knew where my great aunts.

I guess you have to truly love kids to have 18 of them...

[no_hypocrisy]

6. If his choice had to be science fiction, I'd have more respect if the author were

Isaac Asimov or Ray Bradbury.

[thelordofhell]

7. I'm surprised it wasn't American Psycho

[Erose999]

8. One could draw many parallels between Battlefield Earth, Atlas Shrugged, and the Book of Mormon...

but the only one that matters... is that they are all badly written garbage and best used as doorstops.

[Burgman]

9. OMFG. Oh my fucking god.

Tell me this is satire. No one can be that stupid.

[Erose999]

10. Is his favorite movie also Battlefield Earth? Or perhaps the Tom Cruise "Mission Impossible"

franchise?

Battlefield Earth was such a failure it bankrupted the studio that made it, and people are still getting sued over the losses.

[MarianJack]

11. Oh Jeezis!

I almost wish he said it was a piece of ayn rand drivel!

PEACE!

[theAntiRand]

12. What the hell's he shooting with the laser gun in his left hand?

He's not even looking that way.

[DeathToTheOil]

16. Real Men don't Look before they Shoot

After all, Gawwwwwwwd will sort out all the casualties.