Thread: Bush: the memoir no one wants to read

Bush: the memoir no one wants to read

Political memoirs can be a lucrative business – as long as you're not the most unpopular US president in history

Meg Kane
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday November 19 2008 14.00 GMT



Publishers apparently aren't interested in the President's memoirs. Photo: Reuters

Gosh. Poor old George Bush. He's having a rough time, isn't he? He has the worst presidential approval ratings in US history. Under his stalwart leadership, the country has taken an economic, social and emotional nosedive. His own party attempts to distance themselves from him on a daily basis. And to top it all off, can you believe that nobody wants to buy his memoirs? To add insult to injury, publishers are courting his wife with fervour, each clamouring for the opportunity to bid on her memoirs. It has to burn at least a little, right?

I don't really understand why people aren't interested. I'm assuming that watching Bush attempt to justify the myriad interesting choices he's made – all of which fall somewhere in the range of "irresponsible" to "deadly" to "Were you asleep?" – holds the same sickeningly captivating appeal as watching a car crash. Still, other readers might be interested in seeing just what new and grammatically impossible bastardisations of the English language Bush could spew forth next. It seems intriguing to be afforded the opportunity to see into the mind of a man who felt compelled to lie (poorly) about his favourite book from childhood. Granted, I certainly wouldn't pay for the privilege, but that's why we have such an efficacious library system, no?

Presidential autobiographies are certainly nothing new, of course. Just ask former president Bill Clinton – although if he doesn't answer you right away, you shouldn't take it personally. He's probably really busy counting the $30m he earned from the sales of his books. Not to be outdone, Hillary also penned her memoirs, earning herself $8m in the process. Both of Mr Bush's parents successfully authored books – his mother wrote a memoir while his father contributed to a book on foreign policy – as did Ronald and Nancy Reagan before them. I believe even a few White House pets have managed to find buyers for their stories.

So what gives? It's not like it would be an especially lengthy memoir. Nobody ever called him prolix.

Maybe there just aren't enough publishing houses available right now. As it turns out, lots of book deals are in the works. Sarah Palin is one of the hottest literary tickets in town, according to recent reports. She has been offered multi-million dollar contracts in exchange for her books, movies, television appearances, and more. During her brief but superhuman skyrocket to fame, she speedily and successfully built up a constituency of people who found her lack of experience and confusing down-home values system refreshing and full of promise. Not surprisingly, she also has the attention of the "liberal left", who are fascinated that a woman whose main debating skills consist of ill-timed winks and tired cliches was almost one heart attack away from running our country. She's terribly fascinating either way. I'll admit it – I would definitely get my name on the library waiting list for a chance to pore over Palin's innermost thoughts.

(Interestingly enough, Palin's doppelganger, Tina Fey, has also been asked to put forth a literary masterpiece. Presumably, she'd discuss things other than her now-famous "I can see Russian from my house!" though that would probably sell well enough on its own.)

It seems that publishers just don't think the public cares to hear or see any more of Bush right now, nor will they be ready to receive him next year. Or the year after that, or the one after that. Although Bush has compared himself to Harry Truman (in that Bush will be leaving office hugely unpopular, as Truman did in the 50s), one must remember that it was several decades before we allowed for a successful biography of Truman and his time as president. Nobody was willing to hear it before then. Bush could just be a little too eager to explain himself, or perhaps rewrite history so that it plays out on paper the way it does in his mind.
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree ... alin-books

I would be sorry to see more trees cut down to print a book by GWB.

the childrens book he is holding appears to be confusing him

I think GWB (a story Papa announced to the media from GWB's childhood) was the paper he wrote in school about Columbus circumcising the world, rather than circumventing the world. The photo probably capturing the moment when he is trying to explain circumcision to elementary school kids.