'Thanks for changing the subject for me' -- Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin's America by Heart is selling for 50% off at Amazon:




It has been on Amazon's Top 100 list for 14 days and is in 16th place, going down:




President Obama's book is also discounted 50%, but has been on the Top 100 list for 21 days and is in 17th place, going up:




Here are a few other differences between the books:

President Obama's book was written for kids and is Amazon's bestselling children's book.

The President's book has 4+ stars; Sarah Palin's has 3 stars.

The profits from Obama's book go to a scholarship fund for military children with a parent who has been killed or disabled; the profits from Palin's book go into her pockets.

Something the two books have in common is that deals for both of them were negotiated by D.C. attorney Robert Barnett. Barnett's work as "literary agent" to politicians was profiled in a Washington Post article, here.


But President Obama isn't touring his book; Palin is. The NY Times reported about Palin's visit to West Des Moines, Iowa, yesterday:

... [A]fter signing more than 500 books, Ms. Palin left her table to approach the stragglers who had been told they had arrived too late. With a beaming smile, she patiently signed more books and urged the crowd to watch her show the next night.

And she sidestepped a question from a reporter about when she would decide to run. “Oh my goodness!” she said.

Then another person asked for her autograph. “Thanks for changing the subject for me,” she said.

Palin would like to string us along a while longer, but risks being left behind, like a coy girl whom a boy is feeling out about going to a dance. The Des Moines Register reported, in "Sarah Palin's 'star power' alone isn't enough," "While Palin has not given a time frame for her decision, Pawlenty and others have said they plan to announce their decisions in early 2011." The bestseller Game Change tells of what the candidates went through in Iowa, in 2008. Any of them that came close to winning there had to get organized and do a lot of work; two things Sarah Palin isn't famous for. You can read from the book, here, at Amazon. Try typing iowa into the search box.


America by Heart is being read and commented upon at The Mudflats. So far, four posts have been written. The first is here. Others can be found by typing america by heart into Mudflats' search box.


More information concerning the financials of President Obama's book can be read in Lynn Sweet's "Obama's Book for Kids, 'Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters,' Due in November" at Politics Daily.

Well! After years of throwing cans and reading Taco Bell wrappers, I'll have my ghostwriter show me some "comparison and contrast." Is this all it is?

Palin Family Circus News - Saturday, November 13, 2010

Sarah Palin has "written" another book, America By Heart. The book won't be released until November 23rd, but it has already accumulated almost 5000 "reviews" on Amazon, where it is already being discounted by 50%.

Caffeinated Thoughts -- an excellent name for a pro-Palin blog -- has the rules for Sarah Palin's book signing in Des Moines, Iowa on November 27th:

• She will be only signing America By Heart, not [sic] other memorabilia will be allowed.


• Books must be purchased at the West Des Moines Borders and you must provide proof of purchase.


• There will be a limited number of wristbands (he [a Borders assistant manager] didn’t say when they’ll start giving those out). Only one wristband per person, and only two books per person. During the Going Rogue tour they typically gave out anywhere between 500-1000 wristbands.


• No cameras, phones with a camera, recording devices, video cameras, etc. will be allowed. Please leave those in your car or at the security check point.


• A wristband will guarantee your place in line, but it will not guarantee that you will get to meet Governor Palin (circumstances may not permit everyone in line to be able to get through).

Amazon tracks its customers: 55% buy Palin's new book, 37% buy George Bush's Decision Points, 4% buy Glenn Beck's Broke, and 2% buy Palin's Going Rogue. Amazon considers "customers" to be those by whom a book was purchased after viewing its page for Palin's new book. That 37% are buying Bush's book may lend some credence to the idea that many of Palin's fans are the Bush regime's dead-enders.


Philly.com has "Sideshow: Bristol Palin: A klutz to the judges, a dancing dream to 'the people'" It begins:

Is it . . . a plot? As Jimmy Kimmel put it: "Is there a tea party conspiracy?"

Or is it a collusion of like-minded people across this land, hurling buttered monkey wrenches into the works and sitting back for a laugh?

To the last question, we answer: Of course! D'oh. How else could Bristol Palin still be on Dancing With the Stars? ...

And ends:

There's a long history of the least talented being favored on these reality-contest shows. Anyone remember Sanjaya Malakar, the ponyhawked, talently challenged random who got to 7th place in Season 6 of American Idol? The judges hated him; the people voted, and he stayed. In Season 8 of DWTS, Lil' Kim (a pro, OK?) got booted, and rodeo who? Ty Murray stayed because his unknown fan base clogged the phone lines. ...

... Have fun, that's what we at "SideShow" say. It's the massed cussedness of tens of millions of TV-addicted young folks who like to stir it up. It's like spooning sugar in your enemy's gas tank. Or calling in a fake bomb threat to your high school. It's merry destruction, having a good old time with a dumb old show.

Bristol has reached DWTS' semi-finals, and Kelly Osbourne thinks she could win!

During troubling times great leaders stand up and explain things to the people in an address to the nation. Carrie Ann Inaba, a Dancing With the Stars judge, told People Magazine, "She might be in our finals. Wow." There is video of what Inaba told People, here, and, although she delivered her remarks while seated, her explanation of Bristol's success is worth considering.

Finally, Tina Fey has won the Mark Twain Prize For American Humor. When she received the award at Kennedy Center, she thanked -- who else? -- Sarah Palin. Did you know that "John McCain has a picture of Tina in his office and had been getting ideas long before he picked the former Alaska governor as his running mate?" The ceremony was taped and may be seen on your PBS station. Sunday night? Check your listings.