It could be Oprah. They attended the same church and she was the first to push his candidacy, on her show. $40K is pocket change for her.
And it's pocket change to Simon & Schuster. But, believe me, Simon & Schuster doesn't throw money at rookie talent unless they've been told to -- by somebody with clout.
Moreover, they don't throw a second advance and an "attaboy" to writers who miss their deadlines.
Further, my understanding is that, once he got the second advance, he left Harvard and was offered a professorship at the University of Chicago. The understanding was that he was there to "write his book", not teach, and an office and secretarial help was provided.
Still, Obama couldn't seem to come up with a book. He left Chicago...and went to Indonesia for six months. It was there that he "wrote" the book.
Leading to yet another question: Not only who funded the book? But who wrote it?
Plus, a third very important question: Why?