Poli-Sci-Fi: Planetary Politics

I don't know how I missed this one from a few weeks ago from the WSJ:

Have the worlds of science fiction and presidential politics ever been more closely aligned than they were in 2007?

I ask myself that every other day...Yet here are some choice tidbits from the article worth reading.

But really, is it all that remarkable that Romney would identify with the story of a virtuous hero who saves Earth from a foreign invasion force? Or that several candidates have embraced science fiction when so many of them could benefit from its lessons? As the primary season approaches, we offer a few sci-fi suggestions to some of the Democratic and Republican contenders — and to a few major players on the periphery who could use the remedial reading.

Now let's get down to the recommended reading list, shall we?

RUDOLPH GIULIANI
Former mayor of New York

Should tell reporters he’s read “Childhood’s End,” by Arthur C. Clarke: An advanced intelligence arrives from above, creating a utopia by integrating all of humanity into a single mind that thinks and acts as one.

Might also consider reading “The War of the Worlds,” by H. G. Wells: During a cataclysmically destructive event, an observant bystander happens to be in the right place at the right time and thereafter never stops talking about it.

Not to be partisan, or such:

HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
Senator from New York

Should tell reporters she’s read “Dune,” by Frank Herbert: Left adrift to wander in a desert wasteland, the scion of a deposed dynasty retakes the family’s lost throne in thrilling and violent fashion.

Might also consider reading Herbert’s “Children of Dune”: A calculating despot undergoes the ultimate act of political triangulation by transforming himself into a part-human, part-worm creature and going on to rule for what feels like 3,500 years.

This one takes the cake and the spikes punch bowl with it:

GEORGE W. BUSH
President of the United States

Should tell reporters he’s read “Ender’s Game,” by Orson Scott Card: A gifted child from a privileged family defeats a race of inhuman warriors without ever having to leave the comfort of his war-simulator machine.

Might also consider reading “A Scanner Darkly,” by Philip K. Dick: A troubled law enforcer invites a series of increasingly desperate, damaged characters into his home and lives to regret the decision.

Funny read with lot more of your favorite pols...

(via sfsignal)