Matalin and Althouse on "Going Rogue"

Via Memeorandum

Mary Matalin offers a unique perspective on the good, bad and the frequently ugly nature of political campaigns as she reviews "Going Rogue."  Matalin straddles some difficult lines between her friendship with Steve Schmidt and Nicole Wallace to her support for Palin the candidate and conservative.   To a degree, Matalin serves as something of a marriage counselor who is able to see both sides of that political bridge, which for better or for worse is not just burnt but "napalmed ."

Matalin thinks Palin would have been better served by having written a different book, one that looks forward rather than back.  Perhaps her friendship with Schmidt and Wallace influences this opinion to a degree.  Still, Matalin sees Palin better served in venues like her interview with Rush Limbaugh when she is off the media machine message on her own. It's an interesting thought and one worth considering.    Matalin's bottom line:

Bottom line: The book is a good read, an unusually detailed front-row seat view to how strained campaigns always are, and a compelling insight into Palin's perspective. Its long-term publishing and political impact are unknown for now, though as Palin moves out of the mainstream media monster publicity machine and into more hospitable, relevant political terrain, the prospects for success on both fronts improve exponentially.

But its impact on personal and professional relationships is a sad one indeed and one I hope conservatives don't let it divide us just when we are marching toward a promising midterm, which reflects an ascendant common-sense conservatism and requires all the good guys in the foxhole together.

Meanwhile Ann Althouse thinks a different book must surely already be in the works:

When reviewing a book, you should ask whether the book achieves what it set out to do. Dreher posits some goal other than the one Palin chose and slams her for not meeting it. She chose to write a personal memoir: What life feels like for Sarah Palin. So it's her "Dreams From My Father." The book Dreher aches for would be her "Audacity of Hope." Presumably, she is — her people are — working on that second book, and it will be fully fleshed out with exactly the conservative policy details that Sarah Palin needs for a presidential run.

Please read both posts, they are surprising.  Any bets on when the Palin "Audacity of Hope" hits the shelves?