Rudy Giuliani picks the top 5 biographies of leaders.

How can you read this list and not think that he first decided which 5 leaders should be on his list and in what order and then came up with the names of books for the 5 slots?

I'm not blaming him. He's a politician. It's like all those politicians who let us know what is in their iPods. The demonstration of balance is too obvious, the need to show the right frame of mind, so we'll trust them with what they want us to let them do.

Giuliani briefly explains why he picked each book, and each explanation is perfectly honed as a campaign pitch -- deniable, yet unmistakable.

For book #1:

On the night after the attacks of Sept. 11, I remember getting home at about 2:30 a.m. and seeing on my nightstand a book I had been reading, a prepublication copy of Roy Jenkins's forthcoming "Churchill."...

Mmmm... yeah... who's to say it didn't happen?

Book 2 is about Jefferson. Book 3 is about... guess!... Lincoln:

My mother was a great storyteller and a natural teacher. She introduced me as a child to the life of Abraham Lincoln....

Don't you tell me she didn't! You don't appreciate Mom?

Book 4 is... love me Democrats... President Kennedy's "Profiles in Courtage"!

One profile in particular that stuck with me was that of Edmund Ross, the Kansas Republican who cast the deciding vote for acquittal in the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson in 1868. Ross was no fan of Johnson's but sensed that the trial was more about rounding up votes than weighing the evidence. His decision to break ranks with his party ended Ross's political career, but his principled stand has been vindicated by history....

Yay, Republican!

Book 5 is... note, Democrats, I put him after Kennedy... Ronald Reagan!

My wife, Judith, recently bought me Richard Reeves's book (subtitled "The Triumph of Imagination"), which excels in depicting Ronald Reagan's management style and unrelenting pursuit of his core principles: the restoration of the American spirit, limited government, a strong defense and the defeat of communism.

First, Kennedy, then, Reagan. First, Mom, then, Wife. Do you love me yet? Did I present my admiration for Reagan in a way that makes both Democrats and Republicans feel good? Management style! Principles! Like the principles I extracted? Come on, they're really good ones! What? You're for unlimited government?

Hey, I love the guy. I'm just saying I can read.