Proud moments in American publishing: Laura Bush edition

The New York Observer reported today that Simon & Schuster paid two-fitty an undisclosed amount at auction last month for the right to publish Laura Bush's memoir under its Scribner imprint. While neither author nor publisher have been forthcoming about either the book's content or the amount forked over for the rights, odds are a typical passage will disclose the First Lady's tactics for rebuffing advances by Paul Wolfowitz, what to tell your anvil-smart daughter after pictures of her doing tequila slammers in Cabo San Lucas surface in the tabloids, and how many boilermakers it takes to make the pain stop. I also suspect the printed book will be complemented by an audio version for George to read.