THe Obama's Tax Return

Is this a great country or what? A presidential candidate who was raised by a single mother and typical white grandparents, subsisting for a time on food stamps while suffering the indignity of attending a prestigious private school on scholarship and his wife, the daughter of a city worker,

...made $4.2 million last year as widespread interest in the presidential candidate pushed the sales of his two books.

In tax returns the campaign released Wednesday, the Obamas reported a significant jump in their income from the previous year as profits from the books "Dreams From My Father" and "The Audacity of Hope" accounted for some $4 million. The Obamas paid federal taxes of $1.4 million and donated $240,370 to charity.

Their salaried income was $260,735, which included his $157,102 salary as a U.S. senator and hers of $103,633 as vice president of community and external affairs at the University of Chicago Medical Center.

For part of 2007, Michelle Obama collected a salary for serving on the board of Westchester, Ill.-based TreeHouse Foods Inc., which produces pickles, nondairy powdered creamer and other products. She resigned in May after two years on the board.

The position had generated some complaints because TreeHouse is a supplier to Wal-Mart, and Barack Obama has criticized some of Wal-Mart's policies and treatment of employees.

This is a significant jump from the previous year when the Obamas, as just another typical non elitist couple,

reported income of $991,296. The sum included Obama's Senate salary of $157,082 and his wife's earnings of $273,618 from her position as an administrator at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Michelle Obama also earned $51,200 in director's fees from TreeHouse Inc., a food distributor.

This hefty income should go a long way to pay off their mortgage--the college student loans are finally finished--plus extra curricular lessons for the Obama daughters thus protecting them from clinging to guns, religion or anti immigration feelings.