Laura Bush is like the Sphinx of the Bush Administration. No amount of good or bad news affects her, or her sky-high approval ratings. She’s calm and collected in the face of tragedy, a dutiful and loyal partner to the outgoing president. Through her eight-year tenure as First Lady, she carefully picked the issues that she worked on and spoke out about. Her most prominent issues included Afghan women’s rights, literacy, Burmese civil rights and her husband’s increased funding for health projects in Africa.

Several months ago, the rumor was that Laura Bush was offered a multi-million dollar book deal, but details were sketchy, and Mrs. Bush never confirmed anything. With two weeks left in office, though, Mrs. Bush has finally confirmed the deal. She will write her memoir for an undisclosed amount thought to be in the multi-millions, and it will most likely be published in 2010.

U.S. first lady Laura Bush has agreed to publish her memoirs with Scribner, the publisher said on Monday, giving the normally soft-spoken former librarian a chance to offer her views on the Bush presidency.

The book is expected to be published in 2010, said Scribner, an imprint of publishing giant Simon & Shuster, itself part of CBS Corp. Scribner said it would offer “an intimate account of Laura Bush’s life experiences, including eight years in the White House.”

The publisher did not reveal terms of the deal, though publishing experts have said she could command a multimillion dollar advance. Susan Moldow, Scribner’s executive vice president and publisher, negotiated the agreement with Washington lawyer Robert Barnett, Scribner said. Barnett is known for brokering publishing and media deals for heavyweight politicians including Bill and Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and President George W. Bush’s former aide Karl Rove.

Laura Bush said in a statement through Scribner she would “tell the stories of the extraordinary events and people I’ve met in my life, particularly during my years in the White House.”

From Reuters

I have no doubt that Mrs. Bush’s memoir will be one of many from this administration attempting to salvage President Bush’s legacy, but I still think it will be an interesting read. Mrs. Bush, a former librarian, is something of a elite reader, citing Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov as her favorite book. (The book has a torture scene, by the way). I’d be willing to bet this is one memoir that won’t be ghost-written.

What’s sort of funny (to me) is two things: first, notice how no one is offering George W. Bush any amount of money to write his memoirs. No comment on that. Second, Laura Bush already has a sort-of ghost-written, fictionalized account of her life – Curtis Sittenfeld’s The American Wife is a bestseller, and Sittenfeld has openly stated that she based her book almost completely on the life of Laura Bush. We’ll see if Mrs. Bush’s take is any better.

Picture note by Celebitchy: Laura Bush and George Bush are shown outside returning to the White House from their vacation on 1/1/09. They are also shown on 12/19/08 unveiling their official portraits at the Smithsonian. Credit: WENN. My acting coach in high school told me never to cross my legs away from someone if I wanted to make it look like I had affection for them.