The Nation: ‘The Justin Biebers of politics’…

Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) inked the deal for his memoir 50 days after his upset victory. Christine O’Donnell didn’t even come close to winning her Delaware Senate bid but had a book deal even faster — in just 31 days. And Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) set a land-speed record with his contract, landing a book just three weeks after his Tea Party-powered win.

Call it premature memorization. There was once a time when a public figure like Richard Nixon or Gen. Colin Powell would compile a record in politics, government or military before telling their life story. To establish their seriousness, a younger figure might have written about a topic of interest or extolled the accomplishments of others in the fashion of John F. Kennedy’s “Profiles in Courage.”

Now, youthful pols write about themselves.

The age of political celebrity has brought with it a new genre of quickie memoirs, the deals sometimes signed before the swearing in. The books are part-cash grab, part-campaign prop, and partly an effort to answer a question from puzzled voters: Where did this phenom come from?

Perhaps the first in the new genre was Barack Obama’s 2006 “Audacity of Hope,” a follow-up to the young politician’s already published memoir, which sold for an $1.9 million advance just 46 days after he was elected to the Senate.

In the five years since, the genre has prospered, with newcomers ranging from genuine rising stars like South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to gadfly-like figures like O’Donnell cashing in on the phenomenon.

Politico/ Smith/Martin/ 03/30/2011

Florida Latin Conection/ Arnoldo Varona, Editor

The Nation: ‘The Justin Biebers of politics’…