George W. Bush insisted that publication of his forthcoming memoirs, "Decision Points", which will elaborate on 10 key decisions that the self-dubbed "Decider" took in office, be put back until after the midterm elections, according to people close to the former president. Mr Bush has maintained a studious silence since leaving office and has declined, in sharp contrast to Dick Cheney, his former vice-president, to criticise Barack Obama, the US president, over the past 18 months.
According to friends of Mr Bush, he resisted plans by the publisher to launch the book in September, which is traditionally a better time to maximise sales.
His friends say that Mr Bush, whose two terms in office remain unpopular among most Americans, did not want to insert himself into the midterm election campaign, where Republicans are expected to make big gains. The book will be published on November 9, a week after the polls. Mr Bush will give his first full interview to NBC on November 8.
However, Crown Publishing, the Random House imprint, yesterday said the decision was entirely its own.
"The decision to publish in November was made by the president's publisher . . . From a media perspective the period leading up to the midterm elections is a very noisy and crowded space and we believe the president's book will be better served by being launched following that time."
