Political analyst Michael Barone is coauthor of The Almanac of American Politics. Before participating in a panel on the relationship between diversity and democracy in America, he revealed in the Zócalo green room that while his favorite pizza toppings are a bit mundane, he’s got quite the collection of ties—and maps—at home.
What’s your favorite pizza topping?
Tomato, cheese.
How would you describe yourself in five words or less?
Knows numbers to understand people.
What’s your favorite political race of all time?
I don’t think in terms of favorites.
What’s the most interesting, or fascinating?
The 1980 presidential … They’re all fascinating.
People talk a lot about a conservative echo chamber; do you think that exists?
I think there’s something like that. It’s not as insulated as the liberal echo chamber.
When and why did you last get a traffic ticket?
1996. Speed limit.
What’s your guilty pleasure?
Reading history.
What’s the fastest way to embarrass you?
I wouldn’t want to tell anybody that.
What’s the ugliest tie you own?
I’ve gotten rid of those. I moved and got new tie racks, and had to get myself down to something like 140 ties.
What’s hanging on your living room walls?
Maps. I’ve got maps of London, of Boston, Venice, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Paris, Brazil, Edinburgh, Bath, Dublin, Michigan.