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Obama's "Last Campaign": Pop Culture Push for Health Law

March 22, 2014  •  RealClearPolitics

President Obama recently went on the "Ellen" TV show to encourage people to sign up for health insurance at HealthCare.gov. The interview lacked the humor of last week's "Between Two Ferns" interview with Zach Galifianakis, but it was part of the same concerted strategy: to use pop culture venues to push the Affordable Care Act.

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Obama's next memoir will make money - but it won't change minds

February 21, 2014  •  The Washington Post

According to literary agent Andrew Wylie, President Obama's post-White House memoir could fetch an advance of up to $20 million . First lady Michelle Obama's memoir, which she has apparently already started, could bring in an additional $12 million — not a bad nest egg for their golden years.

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8 Fascinating Stories About Presidents And Their Favorite Books

February 17, 2014  •  Business Insider

Here are eight surprising stories about the books presidents read during their stay in the White House:

1. For Presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, reading was a costly—but worthwhile— investment.

Books have been the most consistently used cultural tool by all presidents, to project an intellectual image to the American people. Unfortunately, books were quite expensive in the Colonies—in 1776, a first edition of Adam Smith's "The Wealth of Nations" would have cost about $615 in today's dollars, about the same as an iPad costs today.

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The Presidential Bible Class

February 13, 2014  •  The Wall Street Journal

If you're looking for a way to celebrate Presidents Day on Monday, but don't plan to buy a used car or a new mattress, you could do worse than to spend time reading the Bible.

Our earliest presidents, George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, were all assiduous readers—of history and philosophy, and the Bible as well.

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What Obama's 'Mad Men' SOTU Moment Tells Us About His Presidency

January 31, 2014  •  Forbes

The most-tweeted moment of President Obama's State of the Union was when he mentioned the show Mad Men. In talking about wage disparities between men and women, Obama said, to great laughter, "It is time to do away with policies that belong in a Mad Men episode." In making the reference, President Obama knew what he was doing. The reference generated 34,000 tweets, and is likely to be the most remembered part of the speech in the years to come. It is also part of Obama's successful and continual use of pop culture as a political tool.

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