The roars of the crowd make it clear that most of that audience understood immediately what he was doing. Most evangelical Christians would have missed this reference, though, since presumably most of them aren't fans of rapper Jay-Z, whose song "Dirt Off Your Shoulders" inspired Obama's brush-off. Comparing Obama's gestures at about the 30-second mark with similar gestures in the Jay-Z video should leave no doubt.
What does the future hold for a President younger and more connected to pop culture than any in recent memory? If the campaign is any guide, young people may start to collect the references that evangelical Christians have been collecting for eight years.
The Obama Book Club
Tim Gebhart
President Barack Obama's focus has been on economy, in which virtually no industry is immune. Even the book industry is undergoing "restructuring," with hundreds laid off at publishing houses and booksellers. Yet Obama may be his own stimulus package for the book business.
As evidenced by his tax returns this month, Obama clearly has impact as an author. He earned around $2.5 million in royalties in 2008 as a result of sales of his books Dreams from My Father and The Audacity of Hope. Although both had enjoyed excellent sales for quite a while (Obama earned nearly $4.1 million in royalties in 2007), within two weeks of his election the books were again entrenched on the New York Times hardcover nonfiction bestseller list. Not only did the books rank one and two on the newspaper's paperback nonfiction bestseller list that week, in third place on that list was a collection of Obama's speeches. The two books he wrote remain on the paperback nonfiction bestseller list and ranked among the top 10 nonfiction sellers for all of 2008.
While that doesn't turn him into nonfiction's version of Stephenie Meyer, he is viewed by America and the world as enough of a literati that doesn’t even have to write to generate book sales. Within three weeks of his election, at least three books about him and his election – including one combining his inaugural address with Abraham Lincoln's – hit the New York Times hardcover nonfiction bestseller list, collectively spending a total of 17 weeks there. In fact, Obama need only be seen with a book to influence book sales.
During the campaign, Obama was photographed carrying Fareed Zakaria's The Post American World. Within a day, increased sales bumped the book from the already lofty number 7 position on Amazon's sales charts to number 4. Likewise, when he was sighted with Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, a 2005 book about Lincoln's cabinet, the book's popularity surged.
Article comments
1 - Helen Gallagher
Tim - your article is great, and the impact of Obama in the publishing world is staggering.
I could almost see the number climbing higher, since people reading your post will also click to buy those influential books. Great job!
Helen Gallagher
2 - Eric Olsen
agree Helen! Great job to you all! The books numbers are staggering, though
3 - Matthew T. Sussman
Sportsman-in-chief. I demand a new title.
4 - Eric Olsen
for yourself?
5 - charlie doherty
Nice job Matt - and don't forget the other sports connection with Obama he took with him to the White House from the campaign: former Duke b-baller Reggie Love as an assistant political director-now presidential aide. Makes sense since he majored in political science in college.
Also, look at what people are doing with that colorful Obamaicon image - making one for celebrities, bands and other notable politicians. PASTE magazine is promoting it.
6 - charlie doherty
BTW, is it just a coincidence that there's a J CREW ad at the top right side of this page or was that put up there knowing full well that Michelle Obama wears this brand of clothes? Either way, nice touch.
7 - Mongo
Nice comment re: the J Crew Ad. Online ads keep getting smarter all the time. Our president is also definitely the smartest online president ever.
8 - Tan The Man
obamiconme is pretty awesome...
9 - Eric Olsen
very interesting input guys, thanks!
10 - romm
So Obama is a book sales man? He mentions a book he is reading and sales of it go through the roof. He brushes his shoulder like a Jay-Z video and the dumb Americans cheer. He might be a good showman, trained in the art of media appeal, but I see nothing great about him, except the huge praise he gets from the talking heads, he has after all given huge amounts of money to his paymasters.