Notes From D. R.

Rice-A-Roni

A McCain-Condi ticket? I can get with it! More from the New York Times.

Weekend Box Office: All For One

21 is #1 for a 2nd week.

Reporting For Duty

Can John Kerry be defeated this year?

The Art Of War

Yet another embarrassment for Barack Obama. More from Power Line and the Weekly Standard.

UPDATE: Yet another embarrassment for Hillary Clinton!

The Great One

Oscar winner Charlton Heston passes away at 84. It's a damn shame that his work on behalf of the civil rights movement in the 1960s has long been forgotten, especially by those who spent the last few decades bashing him as an "extreme right-winger." More from Power Line and the New York Times.

Hail And Farewell

William F. Buckley is memorialized. More from CNSNews.com and the Weekly Standard.

Fighting Back

John Fund on judicial activism.

Vice Squad

Boston talk-radio host Gregg Jackson launches an effort to convince John McCain not to select Mitt Romney as his running mate. More from Jim Geraghty.

Crossover

Ramesh Ponnuru on illegal immigration and the '08 election.

The Audacity

James Taranto on the lame attempt to smear John McCain as a racist bigot.

UPDATE: The New York Times gets its licks in.

Yes, He Can

Could Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick’s autobiography turn out to be an unexpected hit?

There was much snickering from the pundit class last week when it was announced that Patrick had signed a $1.35 million deal to write his memoirs. The book, scheduled to come out in 2010, will detail the governor’s rise from the South Side of Chicago to Harvard Law School, the Clinton Administration and ultimately, the Massachusetts State House.

I was among those initially skeptical of the wisdom of this deal—but if the book is effectively marketed to African-American audiences, Random House may well have a hit on its hands.

There may not be much local interest in a Patrick autobiography, but one cannot underestimate the potential for national interest. Despite recent negative coverage of his gubernatorial tenure in the New York Times and the Weekly Standard, Patrick’s struggles as governor are still unknown to the national populace.

Patrick’s life story can be skillfully marketed to African-American readers who desire a Tyler Perry-style triumph-over-adversity story. Say what you will about Patrick’s politics, but it’s impossible to deny that he has had an extraordinary life story, and that story can be shaped and packaged for an audience that desires Horatio Alger narratives.

African-American readers will respond to Patrick’s tale. He is an ambitious man who shattered numerous public- and private-sector glass ceilings, an effective lawyer and orator who, as a novice politician, pulled off one of the greatest landslide victories in Bay State history.

You’d better believe there’s a market for Patrick’s book. If Chris Gardner’s story can capture the imagination of millions, then why not Patrick’s? People will want to see Milton Academy, Harvard and the Justice Department through his eyes. They’ll want to be with him on the campaign trail; they’ll want to know how he dealt with the folks who insisted back in 2005 that he didn’t stand a chance of winning the ’06 election (folks like me, in other words).

Loyal African-American Democrats will surely enjoy the political shots Patrick will take in his autobiography. Patrick was heavily criticized by conservative activists in the 1990s for his actions as head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division; he will undoubtedly use this book to settle old scores. Patrick will surely not hesitate to lash out against his old critics on the right, nor will he refrain from ripping 2006 gubernatorial opponent Kerry Healey and her GOP supporters all over again.

If Random House can convince politically minded African-American readers that this book is a compelling work, the publishing house will more than recoup its investment. Patrick may not be the most successful governor in Massachusetts history, but his life story is fascinating enough to make him a success in the literary world. How funny would it be if his book became a New York Times bestseller—two years after the paper declared him a political Old Yeller?

American Dream

Cal Thomas on MLK's assassination.

UPDATE: More from Juan Williams, Cliff May and David Brooks.

Past Present Future

Daniel Henninger on Vietnam and Iraq.

Shot Down

Slowly but surely, it will dawn on Hollywood that both red-state and blue-state Americans are not interested in movies about the Iraq War.

The Punisher

A new controversy over Barack Obama's "progressivism" on abortion. More from Michael Medved, Michael Gerson and Hugh Hewitt.

The Mean Season

Jeff Jacoby on a new film about Islamic extremism.

UPDATE: More from Jonah Goldberg.

Kicked Out

HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson resigns. More from the Washington Post.

Color Blinded

Pat Buchanan on a major flaw in Barack Obama's race speech.

UPDATE: More from the Wall Street Journal and Washington Times.

SECOND UPDATE: More from the Wall Street Journal.

Truth Be Told

Dinesh D'Souza on the '08 election.

Making History

William Kristol on John McCain.