It’s an old point about Obama’s early life experience, but when I read about the formation of the book Dreams From My Father, a thought or two similar to Robert Stacy McCain’s ran across my mind.

A 28-year-old law student gets written up in the newspapers, then gets a call from a literary agent? She calls him? The agent then signs this 28-year-old nobody — whose only credential as an author is student law journal stuff — with Simon & Schuster. Hello? In what alternative universe does this happen? He misses his deadline, but that’s OK, because he then gets another big contract with a $40,000 advance. At this point, Obama’s story is reminding me of another popular book, The Peter Principle. But the real killer is how, having gotten a contract based on a proposal for a book about race relations, Obama pulls a bait-and-switch, and instead delivers … a memoir. A memoir! Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?? Unless you led the league in RBIs and helped the Yankees win the Series, how the hell does a 28-year-old get away with selling a memoir to a major publisher for $40,000?

That reminds me, Voting to Kill is now available at fine remainder bins everywhere…