Needed: a savvy editor

I haven't yet finished Clarence Thomas' autobiography, My Grandfather's Son, but unless he makes a big reversal before I get to the end of the book, I think his editor made a huge, huge boo-boo. It's about Thomas' first marriage and alcohol problems.

Never, never let your author say he knew before the wedding that it was a mistake. This strips the woman (and child) of all dignity, no matter what nice things are later said about her, her parents, and other good things. It makes your author, whom you were hired to protect from himself, look like less than a gentleman.

Second, never, never let your author continue to say, "when I left her," "when I left the marriage," or "after I left her," because it makes him look like a pompous fool who doesn't realize two people make up a relationship. To a man, it might sound innocuous; but to a woman reader, it makes him sound like a first class clod. If he says it once, OK, maybe your editorial skills are shoddy and you missed it, but several times? Back to school for you!

Third, (and I haven't come to the part where he gets sober) don't let your author go on and on and on about how poor he was after his Yale Law degree and several government appointments and never have him acknowledge how expensive it is to drink away all your discretionary income. Whether liberals or conservatives read it, that's a financial lesson it's never too early or late to learn.