Obama mentions Harry in speech to schoolkids

In a speech to the schoolchildren of America, President Obama mentioned Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling to remind kids of the power of perseverance. As The Times Online reports: Those who do hear what he has to say will be encouraged to aim almost as high as he has. Michael Jordan, the basketball star, “was cut from his high school team,” Mr Obama said, and “J.K. Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was rejected 12 times”. The full transcript of the speech can be found here. You may recall that the Sasha and Malia Obama are also big fans of Harry Potter and had the chance to visit the set this past summer.