Peeking over the top of Obama’s shirt pocket is not the end of the pen that he threatened to use, along with his phone, if he didn’t get his way. It’s the tip of a pencil. An ordinary, wooden, No. 2 pencil, complete with eraser, both ends worn to the nub, in desperate need of sharpening. Pens suggest importance and permanence. Great documents are composed with pens.  Pivotal moments in history are recorded in ink, as are inspiring presidential legacies. The references to the current president inserted into those biographies, however, are sketched in the erasable strokes of a pencil -- as is everything else Obama has ever produced or that his presidency has inspired. Pencils' output is flexible. Pencils design and transform and spin.  Pencils redefine, divide, draw distractions and smudge and distort and erase:  facts, events, and narratives. Penciled opinions can conveniently evolve.  Penciled statistics, measurements and books are...(Read Full Article)