Two books that examine the current political situation, with a view to helping clear the electorate's mind for the 2004 elections, were signed in the closing days of 2002: one scrutinizing the plight of the Democrats, the other looking closely at the Bush dynasty in Texas that has now given us two presidents, and what it might portend for American politics.
The first will be the work of Andrew Cuomo, son of former New York State governor Mario Cuomo, and himself a recent gubernatorial candidate, now teaching at Harvard. He is inviting a spectrum of about 20 contributors, including Democratic presidential hopefuls and former President Bill Clinton, among many others, to address what went wrong for the party in the 2002 elections and what can be done to improve its chances for the White House in 2004. His untitled book was signed by Random House president and publisher Ann Godoff from agents Jim Griffin and Mel Berger at William Morris and will be published next fall.
The current president and the impact and influence of his family in Texas and elsewhere on his rise to power will be the subject of a book by political commentator Kevin Phillips, author of the bestselling Wealth and Democracy and The Politics of Rich and Poor. His book will be called The Dynastic Presidency: Family, Politics and Economics in the United States of the Bush Era and will appear early in 2004. It was signed at Viking by executive editor Wendy Wolf, who bought North American and first serial rights from Wesley Neff at the Leigh Agency, attached to Phillips's speaker's bureau, the Leigh Bureau. Phillips will examine how the growth of the dynasty over four generations has exemplified several trends in American politics, including favoritism to the rich; close relations with high-flying corporate cronies, in the Enron style; and the growing power in the land of the military-industrial complex.
