Being ex-president is usually easy and lucrative. It won't be for George W. Bush.

[babylonsister]

Will Anyone Give Bush a Job?
Being ex-president is usually easy and lucrative. It won't be for George W. Bush.

By Daniel Gross
Posted Saturday, Jan. 17, 2009, at 7:03 AM ET


For many of President Bush's critics, the fact that he is now seeking work in the worst job market in a generation is poetic justice. As Bush noted in his farewell press conference, he is too much of a Type A for "the big straw hat and Hawaiian shirt, sitting on some beach." (He might want to reconsider: Thanks to the recession, tropical resorts are running great promotions.)

Given recent history, Bush probably expects to profit from ex-presidency. Bill Clinton reported income of more than $90 million from 2000-07. But Bush is very unlikely to earn Clintonian numbers. Ex-presidents peddle image, presence, and experience. In Bush's case, each is tarnished. To aggravate matters, many of the industries in which ex-presidents make easy money are a) doing poorly, and b) based in the Washington-Boston corridor where Bush hostility runs deep.

An ex-president's first move is usually a book deal. Clinton got an estimated $10 million to $12 million for his memoirs. But with sales down, and Borders and Barnes & Noble contracting, "there's likely to be a buyer's strike in the book business for up to six months," says one former head of a well-known imprint. Moreover, the industry just isn't that interested in what the Bush inner circle is peddling. Agents are dining out—mostly at Subway—on tales of turning down meetings with Condi Rice. Laura Bush is believed to have received an advance of about $2 million for her memoirs, about one-quarter Hillary Clinton's haul.

Several publishers I spoke to believe a Bush memoir wouldn't command much in the way of foreign-rights payments. And given Bush's professed lack of interest in reflection, what could he offer to American audiences? "Right now, his presidency is seen as such a cascade of mistakes that it's hard to know what he could say that would be compelling," says Geoff Shandler, executive editor at Little, Brown. Bush's best option may be to cut a deal with a Christian publisher such as Thomas Nelson, which pays smaller advances than the New York houses. "Somebody out there will be willing to make a bet that he can reach his political constituency," says Peter Osnos, founder of the politico-friendly publisher PublicAffairs. The consensus estimate for a Bush book advance: $1.5 million to $2.5 million.

Bush has been mum about book plans, but he's been more forthright about his desire to joint the lucrative yakkers' circuit. "I'll give some speeches, to replenish the ol' coffers," he said in September 2007. Ronald Reagan flew off to Japan to make $2 million for a few speeches soon after leaving office. Clinton, to no one's surprise, has been a prolific speaker. But speaking agents I talked with expressed little interest in Bush—and not, they say, just for political reasons. "I'm in business to make money, and I don't think I'd make money doing it," says Bill Leigh, chairman of the Leigh Bureau speaking agency.

more...

http://www.slate.com/id/2208936/

[LiberalEsto]

1. He could make license plates

at one of our fine correctional institutions.

[Cassandra]

2. He could even consider himself...

a "resident scholar" there.

[BlueMTexpat]

5. He'd likely manage to screw that up too.

Upside-down ... backwards ... imagine the possibilities!

[rtassi]

3. I understand his brush cutting skills are good! n/t

[stray cat]

4. he has never held a job he succeeded and dad will once again help him out

and he will now be able to live off taxpayers

[pipi_k]

6. Found this by accident yesterday

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAcH2qkjKyw



only the first one is about Bush, although the rest are pretty good.

[LeftishBrit]

7. He could make quite a lot of money,..

by hiring himself out as an 'Aunt Sally'. Five dollars for every shoe thrown!

[Joe Bacon]

8. That ass couldn't even write a coloring book

But there are still millions of ignorant Jesus Camp types who slobber over him and will lap up anything this worthless piece of shit does. Watch a Christian publishing house pay a couple million dollars to President Asshole, no doubt a couple ghost writers will be employed and millions of stupid assed biblebeating assholes will buy it up too!

[struggle4progress]

9. The wingnut Texan & millionaire crowd will take care of him: face it, they

buy up nasty screeds by the truckload to move them onto best-seller lists, they fund all manner of vicious "thinktanks," they buy plumbers and hookers to promote as reporters, so they'll happily send George on a tour to meet-and-greet the 22-percenters

[Larkspur]

10. Hopefully one or more lawsuits will be filed against Bush

I know Bugliosi is looking for any DA at any level to use his book and try Bush for murder.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

11. Nothing will stick, any DA that files will be booted

Its just not going to happen

[Larkspur]

13. Bugliosis doesn't think so

no Court will throw out legitimate criminal charges lest they set a precedent for condoning lawlessness.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

15. No Federal attorney will file them

They serve at the pleasure of the President and there is no way the new administration will allow that to be done. Its too risky for them and the precedent would be horrific for future administrations.

[sce56]

12. As for Memoirs it is too late his book has already been published! Destined for Destiny

In Destined for Destiny, George W. Bush offers readers an intimate, plainspoken, and often readable look at the character-shaping achievements that led to his inevitable rise to the office of President of the United States.

Written from the heart, not from the brain, this definitive autobiography takes readers on a journey through the 43rd President's life, including his hardscrabble beginnings as the child of West Texas oil millionaires, the remarkable academic performance that earned him entry into the finest East Coast schools, and his proud service to the country as an occasional member of the National Guard sometime around 1972 or 1973.

He proudly recounts his years as a successful oil-business failure and the owner of a baseball team. He even dares to dream the ultimate dream: to become Commissioner of Baseball.

The great man we meet here displays his mother's steely resolve and vindictive temper, his father's keen mastery of language, and his own unique gift of deciding.

His gripping life story deepens when a faith in God hits him one day "like a bottle of Jack on an empty stomach," and he has an encounter with the Prince of Peace that sets George W. Bush on a path to become the greatest War President in history.

To help craft this lasting account of his life and leadership, George W. Bush turned to two writers who have earned not only his trust but his deep friendship: Scott Dikkers, editor-in-chief of The Onion and coauthor of the #1 bestseller Our Dumb Century, and Peter Hilleren, former producer for public radio and some of the nation's finest public-access cable-television stations. Dikkers and Hilleren call on their finely honed journalism expertise every week to write and record the President's weekly radio address on WeeklyRadioAddress.com. Their work on such stirring addresses as "June Terror Update" and "The Pope Is Dead" made them the ideal choice to meet the challenge of chronicling the visionary mark left on history by its shining light, President George W. Bush.

[mwb970]

14. Reminds me of Gonzo trying to get a job after screwing up as AG.

These jerks are all tainted goods. They can speak at right-wing jerkoff think tanks and go on Fox "News", but that's about it. The rest of us are sick to death of them all.