Does "Hungry, Hungry Caterpillar" Count?

The U.S. News and World Report, hopefully with tongue-in-cheek, reports that George Bush and Karl Rove are having a reading contest, and that Dubya is winning.

From U.S. News:

George W. Bush a bookworm? White House aides say it's so. The born-again president's literary interests start with the predictable, such as his daily readings from the Bible. But he also enjoys books about Abraham Lincoln, his political hero, and, of course, yarns about baseball-in a past life, he was, after all, the managing partner of the Texas Rangers. Staffers say the president is actually engaged in an informal contest with White House senior adviser Karl Rove to see who can read more books this year. The latest score card has Bush ahead 60-50.A sampling of the president's reading list so far this year, according to White House aides:

Alexander II: The Last Great Tsar by Edvard Radzinsky

American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin (a biography of Robert Oppenheimer, an inventor of the atomic bomb)

Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero by David Maraniss (about the late all-star Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder)

Lincoln: A Life of Purpose and Power by Richard Carwardine

Lincoln's Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural by Ronald C. White Jr.

Mao: The Unknown Story by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday

Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women by Geraldine Brooks

Polio: An American Story by David Oshinsky (discussing how polio affected the United States in the mid-20th century)

The Big Bam: The Life and Times of Babe Ruth by Leigh Montville

The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History by John M. Barry

Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky

The Stranger by Albert Camus

Are you kidding me. George Bush reading anything outside of the Bible is barely believable. I mean, this guy is notorious about not even reading his briefing notes each morning. He wants them read to him. Bush did not even read the famous CIO memo "Isama Bin-Laden Intends to Attack the U.S." prior to 9-11. He also had that one read to him (to which led to his response, "Thanks, you have covered your ass. Now get out of here.")

Take "Salt" for instance. I loved the book, but it is chock full of more minutia than one would ever want to know about the world's love affair with this necessary spice. Would Bush sit down and wade through this - hardly. And he read Camus. Hell, he would find Paul of Tarsus challenging, much less a French existentialist.

And "Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women" by Geraldine Brooks? I would sooner believe in Santa Claus than George Bush having this by his bedside.