PRESTOPUNDIT

Schwarzenegger's top three role models:

1. Ronald Reagan

2. Milton Friedman

3. Muhammad Ali

Interview on MSNBC from 1999.

Speaking of Reagan as role model, I've been dipping into Peter Robinson's How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life. Whoever has it that Peggy Noonan was Reagan's best writer is off by about a 1,000 miles. Robinson brings the same ease of language to his new book that I found in his It's My Party: A Republican's Messy Love Affair with the GOP, which I just plain enjoyed. Robinson's new book is a sort of a mix between a coming of age story and a "self-help" book for folks in their 20's, for those who are trying to figure out what it means actually to be an adult. Reagan, surprisingly, proved an important role model for the young speech writer. Is Robinson a better writer than, say, Lileks? Well, he's no doubt a different kind of writer, but Maybe. Anyway, the guy can write -- and he has something to say. A rare combination. Hugh Hewitt has been pushing Robinson's book, but I don't think he's been very effective in explaining why. Well, this is why. It's great writing and it takes on the "how should I live" question, which interests most all of us. Well, so much for my little book report.