Bookstores Mirror 2012 GOP Primary

They say never judge a book by its cover—but is it okay to judge a candidate by his or her book? With three likely candidates for the 2012 Republican presidential nominations becoming published authors over the next few months, book sales may be one factor in pundits' predictions for the upcoming race. Both former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin are taking to the road right now, promoting their new books—for Huckabee, A Simple Christmas, his folksy account of Christmases past, and for Palin, Going Rogue, her folksy account of the 2008 election. The potential candidates' books reveal differences in their characters: Mitt Romney plans to release No Apology: the Case for American Greatness, by all accounts a much less folksy tome of policy issues and political analysis. What the three Republicans' adventures in writing point to is a banner era for conservative publishing: Penguin vice president Will Weisser says the niche has been "renewed with vigor."