By John Fund
Barracuda goes rogue.
Sarah Palin may no longer be governor of Alaska but shes certainly destined to become a best-selling author. HarperCollins her publisher has announced the print-run of her memoir will be a staggering 1.5 million copies -- equal to the print-run of Senator Ted Kennedys posthumous autobiography published this month. Publishing sources tell me that such a giant run is only ordered up when there is clear evidence from booksellers and surveys of massive interest in a book.
The book which will be published on November 17 was a crash project. Ms. Palin actually moved temporarily to San Diego after she resigned the governorship in July so she could be close to her collaborator Lynn Vincent. I bumped into Ms. Vincent a former editor at the Christian-oriented World magazine in New York a few weeks ago where she had parked herself in a hotel close to the offices of HarperCollins while working on the books final edits.
Ms. Vincent didnt reveal any details about the book but did acknowledge it will describe Ms. Palins frustration over her treatment by the staffers she inherited from the McCain campaign after her surprise pick as the GOP vice presidential nominee last year. Ms. Palin was booked on grueling interviews with hostile reporters while talk-show hosts such as Glenn Beck couldnt even get through to her aides.
Mr. Beck tells me he was stunned when he picked up the phone one day just before the election to discover Sarah Palin was on the other end of the line. She explained that she had been blocked from reaching her audience so she was now going rogue and booking her own interviews Mr. Beck told me. I was thrilled she had burst out of the cage theyd built for her and we were finally talking.
That incident was the only time Ms. Palin declared her independence from her keepers and its fitting that the title of her upcoming book will be Going Rogue: An American Life.
