Summertime

One of the reasons for this blog — apart from the fact that so far senator Obama seems unwilling to take me up on all the suggestions I send to his website, although he has asked me for cash — is that he has, as far as I can tell, rather iffy taste in movies. He has good taste in music (Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, Bach, The Fugees, Jay-z) and he has a nifty book list (Phillip Roth, Melville, Emerson, Marilynne Robinson, and we'll forgive him Toni Morrison: liking Toni Morrison is virtually compulsory in America, as far as I can tell). But look at the movies: Casablanca, The Godfather, Lawrence of Arabia and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Oh and Harry Potter. This is what is known in the trade as a unity ticket — a list of non-controversial classics, designed to bind us together in common cause, eliminate partisan divisiveness and put petty distraction behind us tc etc. But a little distraction wouldn't go amiss. He doesn't have that much time on his hands, of course, so rather than keep pestering him with suggestions for his speeches ("even the republicans are talking about change now — what they don't realise is we want a change from the republicans" — too partisan, I know, I know...) I have decided to dedicate a summer of moviegoing to him.

Reports to follow.