President Barack Obama Celebrates Bookstore in Healthcare Speech

By Jason Boog 

prarielightsbooks.jpgToday President Barack Obama spoke at a health care rally in Iowa City, Iowa– mixing some bookseller love with his political message.

Over the course of his speech, the President singled out Prairie Lights Bookstore (pictured)–an indie bookseller in Iowa with a more than 30 years in the Iowa City community. The New York Times published a copy of Obama’s speech. UPDATE 1: Sarah Weinman spotted this photo of the President inside the bookstore holding some hilarious titles.
UPDATE 2: According to a photo and note in the article, President Obama purchased a copy of a Star Wars pop-up book.
UPDATE 3: WaPo has more: “He purchased two children’s books, The Secret of Zoom by Lynne Jonell and Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson.”

Here’s an excerpt: “[L]et me talk about what this means for a business like your own Prairie Lights Bookstore downtown. This is a small business that’s been offering coverage to their full-time employees for the last twenty years. Last year their premiums went up 35 percent, which made it a lot harder for them to offer the same coverage … Starting now, small business owners like Ryan and the folks at Prairie Lights will have the security of knowing that they could qualify for a tax credit that covers up to 35 percent of their employees’ health insurance.”