Consider all the Ross Perot books that were rushed into print in time for his election crusade and now stand like so many Edsels begging to be bought. At one store on K Street a few blocks from the White House, a single up-front rack just inside the door last week contained: "Perot: An Unauthorized Biography," "Ross Perot Speaks Out," "Ross Perot: The Man Behind the Myth," "Ross Perot: In His Own Words," "Ross Perot: What Does He Stand For? The Unauthorized Biography" and "On Wings of Eagles," Ken Follett's tale of the bantam billionaire's rescue of two employees from Iran.

Villard Books has brought out a new work the White House would doubtless like to rush to the landfills before it even gets into the stores. Called "Born to Run Things: An Utterly Unauthorized Biography of George Bush," it takes a totally spurious and scurrilous approach to photojournalism. It contains, for example, a doctored photo showing a smiling Bush riding in a car with would-be presidential assassin John Hinckley. Another fake picture has Bush and Iran-contra scandal figure Oliver North merrily removing huge, bulging briefcases from the White House. The caption says they're full of Mad magazines.