Fox's Live Desk continues bill length fixation with obsessive (and dubious) War and Peace references

Today, Fox News' Live Desk continued the House Republican caucus and Politico's silly obsession with the length and size of the House health care reform bill. During a span of less than 45 minutes, co-host Trace Gallagher repeatedly told viewers the health care reform bill is so long, it makes the Russian novel War and Peace “look like a short story."

Live Desk at 1:33pm E.T.:

TRACE GALLAGHER: Well, now to the health care bill that makes War and Peace look like a short story.

Live Desk at 2:10pm:

GALLAGHER: Well, you thought War and Peace was long? Try reading the House health care bill, nearly 2,000 pages. And you're asking what we're asking: How much is this going to cost you?

Live Desk at 2:14:

GALLAGER: Well, are there any speed readers in Congress? It's a skill that could come in handy as the House takes up the 1,990 pages of the newly unveiled health care bill. You want context? Here goes. There are 400,000 words in the bill that weighs 19 pounds. It's almost 9 inches tall, it's got more pages than War and Peace. And oh, by the way, the U.S. Constitution was only six pages.

We've already noted the silliness of the bill size fixation. But here's another note of supposed “context” for Gallagher: According to Amazon.com, English translations of War and Peace clock between 561,093 and 590,234 words - more than the health care bill's reported “400,000 words.” (One report pegs the original text at approximately 460,000 words.)