On the Nightstand

I've always been a sucker for this "what the candidates are reading" non-story that seems to be a standard of every election cycle. Part of the fun is knowing that they're probably not really reading what they say (or rather, what their handlers say) they're reading, then wondering why they chose to emphasize that particular title. Is the McCain camp, for example, trying to send a not-so-coded message in naming Hemingway's "A Farewell to Arms?" If so, what is it? Two selections that will jump out at Compass readers from the latest poll: New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson says he's reading "The administration's energy plan," and Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo says he's got his nose buried in Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth." Interesting. Tancredo, you may remember, was one of the three candidates who, in the first Republican debate, raised their hands when asked whether any of them did not believe in evolution.