WHS's Sarah Palin, the journals and Rupert Murdoch

So it is complete and utter speculation on our part—and we invite you to knock this hypothesis down—but it would make sense to us if a Christian publisher, arguably best poised to engage Palin's likeliest core audience, didn't necessarily have the funds that would be needed to pin her down, especially given Barnett's track record in getting money out of publishing companies on behalf of politicians... But what if that Christian publisher had backing from a huge publishing conglomerate that did have that kind of money to spend? As we say, it's a hypothesis, and it might be completely wrong. But, however it happened, here's a more interesting question: Who gets the credit if the book's a hit—and who gets stuck with the blame if it's a flop?

UPDATE: Publishers Lunch now identifies HarperCollins CEO Brian Murray as the decision-maker on this deal, with the actual editorial duties being handled by Adam Bellow, one of the executive editors who survived February's Collins purge and is noted for his track record with conservative authors.