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PrintJuly 29, 2009
Obama Book Deal on Hold?
It appears that the "student friendly" version of President Obama's "Dreams from My Father" may be on hold, perhaps due to our AT article two months ago which showed how corrupt it would be for a sitting president to pitch a book intended for public schools just after giving billions in stimulus aid to those same schools.
Obama signed the licensing deal with Crown Books on January 15, 2009, just five days before taking the oath of office (which he flubbed).
A search of the Random House web site shows no mention of any student version of the book although the full version is still listed. It would seem that an abridged, dumbed-down version could be produced in short order, even allowing for White House review. (Note that Crown is a subsidiary of Random House.)
If Obama has second thoughts about the deal, then he should issue a press release to this effect. He should also return the $500,000 advance from Crown Books.
The loss of potentially millions in revenue for the First Family might force them to ratchet back their spending. But then, millions of Americans have already been forced tighten their belts due in no small measure to the failure of Obama's stimulus package.
But there might be a benefit for the rest of us as well. Some financial discipline at home might lead to some financial discipline for the Government.
