I take the following from the column of Ruth Marcus this morning.
She is thinking it would be interesting to have McCain who is actually a reader debate Sarah Palin, who clearly is not. When asked on the Charlie Rose show about her favorite authors, Palin came up with one, C.S. Lewis, who wrote The Chronicles of Narnia, which are books for children. Palin found them "very, very deep," and that is her book-reading experience. She has also read columns by a man from Runner's World who is now dead.
Ruth Marcus:
Asked about (not having a passport until two years ago,) by Katie Couric, Palin explained that "I'm not one of those who maybe come from a background of, you know, kids who perhaps graduated college and their parents get them a passport and a backpack and say, 'Go off and travel the world.' "
Instead, Palin said, "the way that I have understood the world is through education, through books, through mediums that have provided me a lot of perspective on the world."
This would be more reassuring if Palin had demonstrated more evidence of having read extensively about history or world affairs. Asked in an interview for PBS's Charlie Rose show last year ( http:/
"Very inspiring and very motivating," she said. "He was an athlete and I think so much of what you learn in athletics about competition and healthy living that he was really able to encapsulate, has stayed with me all these years."