Did Barack Obama Win by Memoir?

By Jason Boog 

51EPAQ7CT1L._SL500_AA240_.jpgThe election sent readers running to the bookstore to buy Barack Obama’s memoirs, the AP reported yesterday–it was the end of a great run for the president-elect’s two books.

In a post-James Frey world, it’s hard to imagine voting for a presidential candidate based on a memoir. Nevertheless, David Henry Sterry endorsed Obama at the Huffington Post, using the President-elect’s memoir as his guide. His highly literary conclusion:

“I have no clue how the economic plans of either candidate will dig us out of this gaping gasping chasm. But memoir wise, Obama feels the real deal, while McCain feels a fake … Obama, with his thoughtful, elegant prose, comes across like a man who’d rather talk than fight. A man true to his memoir.”

Sterry speaks from experience–he’s the author of Master of Ceremonies, a memoir of his time in the Chippendales. Earlier this year, he taught GalleyCat readers about how to research agents in this video feature.