Yes but did he donate to the Obama Fund like the Clintons did?

If he is going to be so bitter about it, maybe he shouldn't bother donating to charities at all.

So what?

Why won't he release his tax returns from 1983 to 1997? What's he trying to hide?

And why is he so shortsighted to give to multiple charities instead of creating his own foundation, like Clinton did?

And why are so many people buying the books of this elitist snob, anyway? What's wrong with the American public?

Bring the smelling salts, Maude - he actually made some money!

So I expect we'll get a raft of comments about how all this money indicates Obama really is some sort of hypocrite.

Sure - they just pull those out of the troll handbook. I remember reading all that shit about Edwards in '04.

But if y'all think these guys are bad, spend the day with a Nader troll.

oy!

I'm sure these tax returns will piss off many Republican/Hillary trolls hoping to discover he donated to Allah Akbar Tech or some such.

Politicians writing books to make their money has a long and honorable history. Winston Churchill wrote books to pay the bills. And I'm not surprised that Michelle's earnings (salary-wise, anyway) are double Barack's...she's either a partner or a high level associate in some tall-building law firm in Chicago, isn't she? That's a typical salary for anyone in a similar position in any of the bigger cities in the country.

I contributed some small change to that tidy some by buying multiple copies of "Dreams from My Father" for friends. I also bought "The Audacity of Hope," but not several copies.

While "The Audacity of Hope" was probably one of the better book-length political statements out there by an elected official, "Dreams from My Father" is a true masterpiece, written when he was in his early thirties (came out in 1995, when he was 34).

It is far-and-away one of the most engaging, complex, subtle, thoughtful, questioning, empathetic, self-critical, page-turning memoirs I've ever read. It's what got me behind Obama. I saw his 2004 DNC speech; thought, "yeah, pretty good," so I bought his book. That's what knocked me out. That's how I became convinced that he was a total person, arriving fully formed, wise beyond his years.

Honestly, people, if you have not yet read "Dreams from My Father," you do not know Barack Obama. And if you think you know and love him now, wait till you read the book; it will kill you with how deep-down great and good he is. It is what got me through the Rev. Wright hub-ub: I already knew that Barack had a complex relationships with Wright, full of misgivings and contingencies. And the notion that Barack is racist or elitist or condescending or lacking in humor is demonstratably absurd when you read is youthful journey through multiple cultures and ethnicities and geographic settings and venues of learning.

Make next year's returns even more impressive: buy his book!

Make next year's returns even more impressive: buy his book!

Now I want to read it.

I don't know how I feel about someone writing their memoirs at that age. I guess my feeling about it is - if you have a story to tell, it wants told, no matter how old you are.

Jesus Christ, Obama clearly states his intent in his "bitter" comment...Hillary: uh, well, religion isn't something people turn to because of Washington politics.

What a tool.

If he made all that money off a book inspired by his pastor, then clearly the Rev. Jeremiah Wright didn't hurt Obama all that much.

This debate has been the biggest load of bullshit. As Andrew Sullivan has pointed out, we're more than half-way through and it's been 100% got'cha crap.