If you believe, as I do, in Nick Hornby's maxim from High Fidelity, "what really matters is what you like, not what you are like," you will be interested in these twin interviews in Entertainment Weekly with presumptive presidential nominees John McCain and Barack Obama.

In the interviews, the candidates are asked about their personal pop-culture habits. Let us compare and contrast tastes:

Favorite sitcom - McCain: "Seinfeld"; Obama: "M*A*S*H"

Favorite movie or TV president - McCain: David Palmer (Dennis Haysbert), "24"; Obama: Jackson Evans (Jeff Bridges), "The Contender"

Last movie seen in a theater: McCain: "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"; Obama: "Shrek 3"

First movie seen as a kid: McCain: "Bambi"; Obama: Can't recall specifically, but one of the first was "Born Free."

If you could be any superhero: McCain: Batman; Obama: Spider-Man or Batman.

Musical tastes: McCain: ABBA, Roy Orbison, Linda Ronstadt, Usher; Obama: On his iPod include Jay-Z, Frank Sinatra, Sheryl Crow, John Coltrane, Bob Dylan, Javanese flute music, African dance music, a lot of R&B.

Labels: Barack Obama, John McCain, politics