Prez Candidates’ Page Costs (Updated)
Investigator by Paul E. Greenberg writes:
In an earlier posting on this website (Cost Per Page of Books by U.S. Presidential Candidates, Jan. 28, 2008), I reported on the vast disparity in the cost per page of the memoirs written by 11 different U.S. Presidential candidates. Now that the field has narrowed and the Democrats’ and Republicans’ Nominees are known, some further analysis seems worthwhile. Whereas the earlier study focused on list prices of books penned by each of the candidates, the current investigation considers both list as well as discounted prices, and gathers data on all the books not only written by the candidates but also about the candidates (since Oct 2006 in the latter case).
Several comments are in order. First, there are 25 recent books written by and about these two people. Taken together, they take up 6,200 pages and have a cumulative list price of almost $600. Of course, given the blended average 53% discount that is currently available, these volumes can be purchased for an altogether reasonable price of just $272.60! Obviously, the more you spend the more save.
Second, books about the candidates hold up slightly better in terms of eventual discounts (48% off) compared with books by the candidates (66% off). This suggests that the candidates themselves are not the most appealing authors. In addition, books about Senator Obama were discounted by “only” 48% while those by Senator McCain were discounted almost 74%. To the extent there may be McCain book fatigue setting in, this may create an opening for the fresher-faced Illinois Senator.
Third, at a list price of 11 cents per page (6 cents per page discounted), the written words around Senator Obama are being priced in a much more environmentally friendly manner compared with those by and about Senator McCain (6 cents per page list, 3 cents per page discounted). Higher prices generally means less sales, and less sales requires less trees. On the other hand, in terms of the size of this overall enterprise (measured in terms of cumulative largesse), Senator McCain’s overall page total is 15% less than that of Senator Obama (2,841 versus 2,259). Environmental friendliness no doubt has its place, but the maverick Senator seems to be signaling a willingness to downsize.
Much has been written by and about these candidates. I am certain that the best candidate is staring right at us. It is now our job to turn the page on the other one.