Behind the Big Political Books

March 07, 2010

Behind the Big Political Books

The Washington Post has a must-read profile of Washington, D.C. super lawyer and book agent Robert Barnett.

"To list Barnett as a signifier of Washington connectedness is like calling the sun a symbol of heat. This is good for his clients, who pay him $975 an hour, but Barnett's virtual monopoly on the specialty of helping public figures cash in -- on power memoirs, on private-sector jobs -- invests in one man a remarkable degree of influence across the political spectrum. The yearning to profit after a career in politics is an age-old Washington instinct, but the rise of Barnett's one-stop shop is a story not widely known."

Clients with recent books sold by Barnett: Henry Paulson, Sarah Palin, the late Edward M. Kennedy and Karl Rove. Clients with forthcoming books: George W. Bush, Laura Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald M. Rumsfeld, Tony Blair.

"Hiring Barnett is such a predictable Washington move that when Scott Brown, the new Massachusetts junior senator, recently contacted Barnett about a book, the publishers had beat him to it: They predicted Brown would shop a book, thought he would hire Barnett -- so they skipped directly to the lawyer."

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Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including the Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Christian Science Monitor.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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March 07, 2010