Obama Gives a Nice Shout Out to Indie Bookseller

Health care and bookstores don't come up in a single discussion.

But in President Barack Obama's health care speech on Wednesday, March 24, the two went together like peas and carrots.

Publisher's Lunch reports:

Iowa City independent bookstore Prairie Lights was vaulted into the national spotlight yesterday after President Barack Obama's speech about health care singled the bookstore out as an example of a small business that would benefit from tax credits that would help them cover the cost of insurance for their employees.

"This is a small business that's been offering coverage to their full-time employees for the last twenty years," Obama said about the 32-year-old store. "Last year their premiums went up 35%, which made it a lot harder for them to offer the same coverage. Starting now, small business owners like...the folks at Prairie Lights will have the security of knowing that they could qualify for a tax credit that covers up to 35% of their employees' health insurance."

After the speech, President Obama stopped inside the bookstore and, according to the Associated Press, spent $37.44 on three books: The Secret of Zoom (Henry Holt Children's) by Lynne Jonell and Journey to the River Sea (Dutton Children's) by Eva Ibbotson, and a Star Wars pop-up book. He also posed for this rather amusing photo, [posted on the] WaPo Political Bookworm blog.

I can't help but chuckle when I see the photo taken by AP staffer Charles Dharapak. It's plain classic.

The Washington Post also has an interesting article on the "event" following the pic.