Cheat Sheet

Need another sign that we’re in a deep recession? Consider this: Eight years after Hillary was given $8 million by Simon & Shuster to write her memoirs, that same publishing company has given Laura Bush…$1.6 million. The advance is even less than the $2 million former first ladies Nancy Reagan and Betty Ford received. According to the attorney who negotiated the deal for Laura, eight publishing companies were in the running for the book, which Scribner publisher Susan Moldow sure seems excited about. “As a rare witness to the private moments of one of our country’s most consequential presidencies, and as a First Lady who has maintained a notable level of discretion, her memoir will provide a candid and personal perspective and an enduring record, of the years that have already determined the course of the 21st century,” she said.