“What’s your favorite novel?” is a perennial campaign question, the answer to which presumably gives insight into leadership.

A “Moby-Dick” lover may understand the perils of obsessively chasing of a goal. A fan of “To Kill a Mockingbird” may well focus on racial justice.

When asked his favorite novel in an interview shown yesterday on the Fox News Channel, Mitt Romney pointed to “Battlefield Earth,” a novel by L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology. That book was turned into a film by John Travolta, a Scientologist.

Which, to put it delicately, blew chunks of rotting whale carcass.

It's not enough that Romney doesn't have beliefs he actually stands for. He doesn't even have taste.