SCHADENFREUDE WATCH: HEWITT EDITION…. In 2006, a few months before the midterm elections, conservative blogger/talk-show host Hugh Hewitt published a book on the drive for a “permanent Republican majority.” Soon after, Democrats won a sweeping, historic victory, and reclaimed the majority in both chambers.
In 2007, a few months before the primaries, Hewitt published a book on Mitt Romney and the prospects of a “Mormon in the White House.” Soon after, Romney blew leads in Iowa and New Hampshire, and withdrew from the presidential race after a surprisingly poor showing.
In 2008, Hewitt has a new idea for a book. It’s called, “How Sarah Palin Won the Election … and Saved America.” There’s a small problem: no one wants to publish it. According to a report in the New York Observer, Hewitt’s literary agent, Curtis Yates, has already given up on selling the book.
“The idea was to tell the story behind the effect that Sarah Palin has had on this election and how it is and why it is that she has basically turned the election around for McCain and why it is that she is resonating with so many people in the country,” he said. “The intent was to finish the book by a week after the election, and to have it out before the inauguration.”
Was that the plan regardless of who won?
“The book obviously presumed [a McCain-Palin victory],” Mr. Yates said, “but the theory was that her impact on this election will have a lasting effect regardless — that she’s not gonna go anywhere, that she’s just gonna be a figure in G.O.P. politics going forward.”
Christopher Orr responded, “Oh, Hugh. If you didn’t exist, humorists would have to invent you.”
What’s more, I think Atrios has the right idea: “They should publish it, and Fox News should just provide a complete alternate reality for its viewers, one in which McCain is president, Obama has been arrested and sent to Gitmo for terrorist activates, Joe Wilson gets indicted, American Carol made a GAZILLION dollars at the box office, etc.”
