'Hail to the Cheat'

This is a rush transcript from "On the Record," December 23, 2009. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, FOX NEWS HOST: "Hail to the Cheat." You think we are talking about AIG, but we're not. "Hail to the Cheat" is the name of the new novel by Ted Venetoulis. It's about a president who cheats on his wife and gets exposed running an administration filled with, what else, corruption.

Well, that could never really happen, could it? In this novel, the first lady really fights back. Ted Venetoulis joins us live. And Ted, as I said before this is a great read, and it's under $20, which of course is my favorite.

(LAUGHTER)

But you said in the book that this is not modeled after anybody. It's accidental. This is not modeled after anybody?

TED VENETOULIS, AUTHOR: And you have to say that when you write a novel. Anything related to anyone living or dead is truly accidental.

But there are a lot of characters that might be interesting here. There is a political consultant who brings together the combined Machiavellian wisdom of Karl Rove and James Carville. There's an interesting press secretary who has the ability to con people. We call it spinning.

But essentially, Greta, it's a story about a woman who comes home and finds her woman fooling around.

VAN SUSTEREN: And not just some woman.

VENETOULIS: Well, that's the catch. She's the first lady and he's the president. And she decides to throw him out. She is not going to stand by her man. She is going to stand by her dignity and by her principles.

And she is a magnificent woman who narrates this story. And it is really heartbreaking. What do you do to show the president out, and evicted president from the White House? Where does he go? Who gets the Oval Office? There are a lot of twists and turns as this remarkable, extraordinary woman narrates this tale.

And I noticed that Jenny Sanford, Governor Sanford's wife, they are taking a little bit of a different tack and not and there are not so apt to stand up and the humiliation that occurs. It's not just standing by your man, it's the humiliation and the global media entourage that focuses on you.

I often wondered when I started this, what would happen if a woman would stand up?

VAN SUSTEREN: The book is fascinating because you have been around politics for a long time and it brings also the realism of Washington into it. That's why it is particularly fun.

VENETOULIS: It was supposed to be a humorist book.

VAN SUSTEREN: Tongue in cheek. I'm not suggesting that cheating husbands or wives is a good thing, but it's a refreshing read, a fun read.

VENETOULIS: That's what it's supposed to be. But it does give you an exaggerated view of what someone said Washington with its bloomers down.

But it's the way a number of things operate behind the scene. We see it happening now in the Senate. It may be exaggerated. But there are some interesting twists and turns and adventure to it and a remarkable ending in terms of when someone decides to stand up in this political environment.

Most of the spouses sign some kind of a Faustian bargain. Their husband is a elected official, and there are certain rules. When these fellows go out and behave the way they do, what are they thinking about? A governor flies down to Argentina, a governor from New York using a credit card...

VAN SUSTEREN: I haven't recovered from she's in remission defense of Senator Edwards talking about his wife. That topped all.

VENETOULIS: When Rudy Giuliani was mayor, there was dispute about who was in Gracie mansion.

VAN SUSTEREN: When I was in the college, the governor of the state of Wisconsin got locked out of the governor's mansion by his wife.

VENETOULIS: That happened in Maryland too, where the first lady threw the governor out.

VAN SUSTEREN: It's a great book. "Hail to the Cheat." It's a fun read. Ted, thank you.

VENETOULIS: Thank you, Greta, for having [me].

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