Obama Is the New Oprah

Publishing industry, take note: He can't sell Americans on health care, but the president is a heck of a book salesman. After the White House announced that Obama would be tackling George Pelecanos' The Way Home, Richard Price's Lush Life, Tom Friedman's Hot, Flat and Crowded, David McCullough's John Adams, and Kent Haruf's Plainsong while on the Vineyard, sales for those books skyrocketed, Politico reports. On Amazon.com's list, the Pelecanos' book shot to No. 328 on Tuesday from No. 33,349.