President Obama visited the University of Iowa yesterday to tout his health care reform legislation, and stopped at the Prairie Lights bookstore, which he had noted in his speech. He also did a little shopping. Here's how a Washington Post reporter described it:

Obama walked around the store in search of the children's/young adult section. Along the way he picked up "No Apology" by former GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney and "Courage and Consequence" by former Bush administration senior adviser Karl Rove.

"What do you think, guys?" Obama asked pool reporters, holding up a hardcover copy of each book before setting them back down. ...

A few minutes later, he stepped up to the cash register with two books for his daughters -- "Journey to the River Sea" by Eva Ibbotson and "The Secret of Zoom" by Lynne Jonell -- and pulled out a wad of cash.

I sure hope the books weren't meant to be given as presents for some distant birthday. But I guess Post reporters who cover the president don't worry about spoiler alerts.