Say what you will, this “Texan” “rancher” plays a mean game of literary poker, huh? He just blew Brian Williams away with his “I’ll see your Camus, and raise you three Shakespeares.”

*** Update 9:15 pm ***

From Tim Grieve, War Room:

A week or so after leaking word that George W. Bush spent part of his summer reading Albert Camus’ “The Stranger,” the White House announced today that the president is “saddened to learn of the passing of Egypt’s Nobel Prize Laureate in Literature, Naguib Mahfouz.”

No word on whether Bush ever read anything Mahfouz wrote. But really — so many books, so little time.

Also, the three Shakespeare thing, what Bush said was:

“I was in Crawford and I said I was looking for a book to read and Laura said you oughtta try Camus. I also read three Shakespeare’s.”

Is there perhaps a children’s book, or a comic, called “Three Shakespeares”? There’s fifteen minutes of fame awaiting anyone who knows of any such thing.