Blast from the Past
The book of George: W.'s 'unconventional' biography set for release
For all those people displaying the George W. Bush "Miss me yet?" bumper stickers on their cars, this is very good news.
The former president is set to release his memoir on Nov. 9, tentatively titled Decision Points. (I guess Decider Points was vetoed by the publisher?)
The release from Crown, an imprint of publishing giant Random House, promises that the tome will take readers, "inside the Texas Governor’s Mansion on the night of the hotly contested 2000 election; aboard Air Force One on 9/11 in the gripping hours after America’s most devastating attack since Pearl Harbor; inside the Situation Room in the moments before launching the war in Iraq; and behind the Oval Office desk for his historic and controversial decisions on the financial crisis, Hurricane Katrina, Afghanistan, Iran, and other issues that have shaped the first decade of the 21st century."
By focusing specifically on what Bush deems to be the biggest events of his presidency, he can do more to shape a narrative. The former president will also include personal moments like "decision to quit drinking, his discovery of faith, and his relationships with his family."
Rather than having to explain, say, the Valerie Plame leak, not firing Rumsfeld after Abu Ghraib, the Justice Department firings, telling terrorists to "bring it on," Walter Reed, attempting to privatize Social Security, torture memos, commuting the sentence of Scooter Libby and his Vice President shooting someone in the face.
You see, those weren't part of the decision points. Or as some of us call them, bullet points. Of course, Bush always liked his information kept short.
Of course, when it comes to presidential memoirs, in Bush's case there's not much information left to mine. After Bob Woodward's trilogy, we've had tomes from everyone from Scott McClellan to Douglas Feith to Karl Rove. Each seems to get diminishing sales.
Will you buy Bush's book? Can he top Sarah Palin's sales? Wouldn't it be awesome if Will Ferrell did the audio book?