Poetry doesn’t appear to be John McCain’s forte.
On the campaign trail yesterday, the presumptive Republican nominee for president was asked by an Iraq veteran and poet if he knew who the U.S. poet laureate is and who the poet laureate of Arizona is, according to this account on The Washington Post’s 2008 campaign blog.
“I give up,” Mr. McCain immediately replied, according to the Post. “You want to tell me?”
The questioner did, although he supplied an incorrect answer, telling the candidate that the U.S. poet laureate is Robert Pinsky, the Post said. Mr. Pinksy served in that role from 1997 to 2000. The current U.S. poet laureate is Charles Simic.
Furthermore, the Post noted, there’s no Arizona poet laureate. It is one of 12 states without an official one.
