Obama may earn Millions from Schools in Book Deal

(By Richard Henry Lee, The American Thinker) - Obama may earn millions from taxpayer-funded schools in his new book deal.

Five days before taking the oath of office, President-elect Barack Obama signed a book deal with Crown Publishing Group to publish a version of his best-selling book, "Dreams from My Father", aimed at middle school and young adult age groups. Obama would receive a $500,000 advance payment against royalties, plus ongoing royalty payments. Some in the media have questioned the propriety of this deal from the angle that the President might be unduly influenced by Bertelsmann AG, the German based media publishing empire which owns Random House, which is the parent company of Crown Publishing.

But there is a far larger dynamic at work. Random House and Crown are interested in selling books. And most middle and high school students do not buy lots of books, but the schools they attend do. So we presume that Crown Publishing will primarily pitch the book to schools along with libraries.