According to James Carville, his timing was simply a "little off" with a 2009 prediction that Democrats would rule for 40 years. The political operative and frequent guest on ABC appeared in the revamped Newsweek magazine to offer an apology for the inaccurate assertion.
The first-person piece in the March 21 issue included an admission that the title of his book, 40 More Years: How the Democrats Will Rule the Next Generation, was designed for the sake of publicity.
He admitted, "I know a bit about selling books, and you need a good title—a catchy concoction with a little Cajun spice, something that will make folks stop in the aisles, turn away from the Grisham novels and the latest crazy diet fad, and pick up your masterpiece."
Carville claimed his prediction was simply premature, but added, "Will I be vindicated by 2049? Given my hard-living past, I probably won’t be around to worry about it. That title will outlive me."
This is only the second issue of the "new" Newsweek featuring Tina Brown as editor.
Carville stopped by ABC's Good Morning America on May 09, 2009 to tout the book. (See photo above.) Talking to friend and former political colleague George Stephanopoulos, he fumed, "...These tea baggers, they turned everybody off. There were a bunch of like 75-year-old cranky white guys mad at everything. It just couldn't have been a better event for the Democratic Party. I hope they come back and tea bag some more."
When Carville returned on November 4th, 2010, Stephanopoulos didn't bring the subject up. Although he did on January 25, 2010.
— Scott Whitlock is a news analyst for the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter.
