Best of the Web

So we're agreed?
House Speaker John Boehner did his best, if unintentional, Yogi Berra impersonation yesterday after Democrats announced they had reached a compromise on cuts to this year's budget.

Boehner said: “There is no agreement on numbers and nothing will be agreed to until everything is agreed to.”

Rejected
Have you started your file of rejection letters yet? If your manuscript has been turned down, you're in good company.

Twelve publishing houses rejected J.K. Rowling's first Harry Potter. But one publisher, Scholastic, recognized the potential and agreed to publish it. Sales of her books topped 400 million copies in less than 15 years and she became a billionaire.

John Grisham's first novel, A Time to Kill, was rejected by 16 publishers. But in the last two decades, Grisham's 25 novels have sold 250 million copies.

Madeline L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time was rejected 26 times. It went on to win the Newberry Medal.

Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen received 134 rejections for Chicken Soup for the Soul. But when a publisher finally took a chance on it, the book became a runaway best-seller. Additional titles followed. After 15 years, Chicken Soup for the Soul brand had sold 112 million books and raked in more than $2 billion.

Best of the Web
If you haven't discovered James Taranto's witty "Best of the Web Today" column on the Wall Street Journal site, let me be the first to recommend it. A sampling:

Metaphor Alert
"Even 7.5% unemployment means 11.5 million Americans without jobs. The human cost of that dry statistic can be detailed in a canvas of broken hopes and shattered lives." — Mitt Romney, USA Today, March 31

Dey Got a Point
"Dem Losers Still Blaming Nancy Pelosi" — headline, Politico.com, March 30

Questions Nobody Is Asking
* "Leaping Sea Creatures: Do We Need Bigger Boats?" — headline, CNN.com, March 30
* "What Was the New York Times Magazine Like 100 Years Ago?" — headline, Slate.com, March 30

Answers to Questions Nobody Is Asking
* "Why You Should Care About Cricket" — headline, ESPN website, March 28

Bottom Stories of the Day
* "Jon Huntsman Snags Endorsement of Sam Brownback's Campaign Manager" — headline, DailyCaller.com, March 31
* "Kucinich to Deliver Hour-Long Speech on Libya" — headline, RollCall.com, March 30