The "talking head": with the "paid-mouthpiece" episode behind him, Armstrong Williams plans a book.

Armstrong Williams told Black Issues Book Review recently that he had been set this year to publish "a critique of the liberal, elite civil-rights leadership that is black, white and Jewish."

That was put on hold when Williams became the focal point of a scandal in January 2005; revelations were made that he and other political commentators were paid by the Bush administration to promote the No Child Left Behind grade-school law. Williams received $240,000.

"The book," said Williams in an August telephone interview, "was delayed until after the controversy, which is a good thing ... I've grown exponentially. Before, I was a mouthpiece for the Republican Party. This book is more of an evolution of Armstrong Williams."

Williams, 45, is a widely circulated Op-Ed columnist and Sunday TV talk show guest. He acknowledged during the storm that it was no surprise that media outlets and news consumers were distressed after learning he promoted a government policy as a paid messenger, and then opined about it without disclosing his financial interest.

"I wanted to do it, that is, promote No Child Left Behind," Williams told USA Today, "because it's something I believe in."

The Tribune Company canceled his Op-Ed column syndication deal last winter in response to the news. In August, the National Association of Black Journalists announced that Williams was the 2005 "Thumbs Down" award winner for dubious achievement.

His book, The New Racists, is scheduled for February 2006 release by Eagle Publishing Co., an imprint of Regnery Publishing, said publicist Patricia Jackson.

She said a subtitle for Williams's book was pending. However, on the Amazon.com Web site, this subtitle is listed: How Liberal Democrats Have Betrayed Minority Americans. (The retail price is $27.95 and the ISBN is 0-895-26018-2.) Jackson said the information posted on Amazon would be removed while the editing is being completed and reposted once the subtitle is confirmed.

Williams said his recast manuscript, post-No Child Left Behind controversy, means, "I have taken a critical look at the Republican and Democratic parties and what we all can do to make both parties better, how we can move beyond race and how race has become an industry Democrats and Republicans benefit from."

The No Child Left Behind Act became a federal law in 2002. It was billed as a way to improve failing schools and assure academic achievement for all students but has remained the subject of heated controversy over results.

Williams, whose previous book was Beyond Blame: How We Can Succeed by Breaking the Dependency Barrier (Free Press, 1995), is founder and CEO of the Graham Williams Group, a Washington--based public relations company. He is also owner of The Right Side Productions, which produces and distributes his show to satellite and cable outlets. Williams, a South Carolina native, is a former aide to United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

Regnery is publisher of Human Events, "the national conservative weekly," according to the motto listed online. Recent company books include The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam [and the Crusades], Flat Tax Revolution and The Myth of Hitler's Pope (www.regnery.com). Initial print runs of Regnery and Eagle books range from highs of 100,000 to lows of about 20,000, said publicist Jackson. The projected size of Williams's printing was not available.

Wayne Dawkins is author of Rugged Waters: Black Journalists Swim the Mainstream (August Press, June 2003) and writes frequently about the news media.