I’m sure people are getting tired of my hyping A Canticle for Leibowitz—I do it so often I’ve just added a topic for it—but compare these two exchanges:

Obama: John McCormick?

McCormick: Thank you, Mr. President-Elect. First of all, given the situation here in Illinois, do you favor or oppose a special election to fill your—your vacancy, and secondly, you told us at your first press conference after the election that you were going to take a very hands-off approach to filling that spot. Over the weekend, The Tribune reported that Rahm Emanuel, your incoming chief of staff, had presented a list of potential names…

Obama: John, let me—let me—let me just cut you off, because I don’t want you to waste your question. As I indicated yesterday, we’ve done a full review of this. The—the facts are going to be released next week. It would be inappropriate for me to comment, because the—the—for example, the—the story that you just talked about in your own paper, I haven’t confirmed that it was accurate, and I don’t want to get into the details at this point. So do you have another question?

McCormick: There’s no conflict between what you said was your hands-off approach and the possibility that—

Obama: John—

McCormick: —aides presented somebody—

Obama: John. I said—The U.S. attorney’s office specifically asked us not to release this until next week.

McCormick: What about on a special election? Given the kind of chaos here in Illinois? (laughter)

Obama: You know, I’ve said that I don’t think the governor can serve effectively in his office. I’m going to let the state legislature make a determination in terms of how they want to proceed.

McCormick: Do you or Duncan have a better jump shot?

Obama: Duncan, much better. That one’s an easy one.

And this from A Canticle for Leibowitz:

Lady Reporter: Is it true that a nuclear explosion occurred recently somewhere across the Pacific?

Defense Minister: As Madam well knows, the testing of atomic weapons of any kind is a high crime and an act of war under present international law. We are not at war. Does that answer your question?

Lady Reporter: No, Your Lordship, it does not. I did not ask if a test had occurred. I asked whether an explosion had occurred.

Defense Minister: We set off no such explosion. If they set one off, does Madam suppose that this government would be informed of it by them?

(Polite laughter.)

…

Lady Reporter: If there was a recent test shot in the Orient, which do you think more probable: a subterranean explosion that broke surface, or a space-to-earth missile with a defective warhead?

Defense Minister: Madam, your question is so conjectural that you force me to say “No comment.”

Lady Reporter: I was only echoing Sir Rische and Delegate Jerulian.

Defense Minister: They are free to indulge in wild speculation. I am not.

Second Reporter: At the risk of seeming wry—what is Your Lordship’s opinion of the weather?

Defense Minister: Rather warm in Texarkana, isn’t it? I understand they’re having some bad dust storms in the southwest. We may catch some of it hereabouts.

Hat tip to NewsBusters.org for the Obama version of this exchange.