Politicians seeking higher office publish memoirs to portray their lives in the best possible light. And now, California Gov. Gavin Newsom — in anticipation of the 2028 presidential election — will do the same.

Set for release in May, Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery promises an “intimate” look at Gavin Newsom’s life. The book’s description, which attempts to cast Newsom as a profound thinker, says: “From California Governor Gavin Newsom comes an intimate and poignant account of identity, belonging, and the defining moments that inspired a life in politics.”
Newsom’s ghostwriter really has a lot of work cut out for him or her. It’s going to be tough — really, really tough — to spin Newsom’s life into a story that makes him appealing to the general public.
There is the fact that he was groomed to be a politician from birth by an oil billionaire. The slight issue that he was handed his first three political positions thanks to his upper-class birth and familial connections. And, oh yeah, the problem that Newsom has demonstrated — time and time again — that he views being a politician as a celebrity career rather than a public service role. (For just one piece of evidence of this, note that, as lieutenant governor, Newsom hosted his own TV show while at the same time publicly stating that he was in Sacramento “like one day a week, tops.”)
And how is the ghostwriter going to get around the really embarrassing personal scandals?
The relationship with the 19-year-old, with whom he had a 19-year age gap? The affair with the married woman? The drunken episode when he was supposed to be comforting the family of a fallen officer?
Will these scandals simply be ignored, or will some effort be made to address them?
There is also the long list of personal circumstances that will make it difficult, if not impossible, to spin Newsom as a man who will play well in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. (The Scientologist actress girlfriend. The New Age wedding officiated ...