Last Year's Historic Election Becomes This Summer's Page-Turner

It's not often that you take a nonfiction book about politics with you on a summer vacation -- unless you're having trouble sleeping. But you should take "The Battle for America 2008," the new, behind-the-scenes look at what happened in the historic presidential election. It's fast-paced and beach-worthy, as good a page-turner as any mystery thriller.

The book, by our colleague Dan Balz and former colleague Haynes Johnson, has gotten great reviews for revealing the inner workings on both sides. For example, we learn that it was the McCain campaign's idea -- and not Sarah Palin's -- for her to elevate the campaign discourse by using the catchy "pal around with terrorists" shot to attack Barack Obama. (Though Palin was delighted to do so.)

Then there was adviser David Axelrod's extraordinary memo to Obama early on, telling him, "You care far too much what is written and said about you."

Less noticed is a Jan. 16, 2006, memo to Obama from his Senate chief of staff, Pete Rouse, outlining the strategy to keep the door open for a possible run in 2008. "It makes sense for you to consider now whether you want to use 2006 to position yourself to run in 2008 if a 'perfect storm' of personal and political factors emerges in 2007," he wrote.

"If making a run in 2008 is at all a possibility, no matter how remote, it makes sense to begin talking and making decisions about what you should be doing 'below the radar' in 2006 to maximize your ability to get in front of this wave should it emerge and should you and your family decide it is worth riding," Rouse wrote.

Six days later on "Meet the Press," Tim Russert asked Obama, "So you will not run for president or vice president in 2008?"

"I will not," Obama replied.

The many revealing vignettes about key players are what move the book along. For example, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D) was "struck by Obama's casual elegance," the authors write. "One day, when they were together on Obama's bus, someone brought out some fruit."

"Obama says, 'Where's the silverware?' " Richardson recalled. "So they bring in the silverware. He gets a little plate out and he starts like cutting the orange and then takes it and offers it to me. And I thought to myself, just grab the . . . orange."

Hey! Maybe it was a more formal bus than we're used to?

Waiting in the Wings

The Senate's slithered out of town and the White House has yet to announce you for that dream job you've been waiting for? Well, not to worry. The administration has announced picks for only 60 percent of the 501 most senior jobs in the executive branch. Granted, a lot of people are in that seemingly endless and ridiculous vetting process and will eventually be nominated, but maybe a nanny problem, a trip to Cuba or a tax matter will trip them up.

The jobs with no announced candidate include: undersecretary for food safety at the Agriculture Department, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, assistant secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs, and, now that front-runner Paul Farmer reportedly has withdrawn, head of the Agency for International Development. (You might want to wait on that one until you see whether a long-overdue reorganization is in the offing.)

Uighurs Redux

For space reasons, we were unable to include a photo in an item Friday about the four Chinese Muslim Uighurs held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for seven years as terrorism suspects and now working as landscapers at Bermuda's Port Royal Golf Course. The four -- who authorities long ago determined did not pose a threat to the United States -- couldn't be sent back to China for fear of persecution there. And the administration bowed to strong bipartisan opposition against allowing detainees to come to this country, so the quartet ended up in Bermuda.

They're doing well, a Bermuda official said last week. But they are working there only on a temporary basis, perhaps until after the PGA Grand Slam of Golf in October.

Well, what with all the training they've had, maybe there'll be some openings next year at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda?

Cold Comfort

It's official: As expected, Boston lawyer Barry White, who bundled more than $200,000 for the Obama campaign, was nominated Friday to be ambassador to Norway. One drawback: He probably won't be confirmed until sometime in October, well after winter has set in there.