Poor Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Brian Cowen. He's getting hammered in the polls in Ireland for the disastrous economy over there, and he can't even catch a break in the book charts.

None other than President-elect Barack Obama has the two top-selling books in Ireland these days with his two works, "Dreams of My Father" and "The Audacity of Hope." The books are selling like hotcakes over there . . . but the same can't be said for a new biography just published about Cowen.

That book, according to The Sunday Tribune, is getting outsold by a margin of 50-1 by Bam's tales. The figure for the new Cowen book, called "Brian Cowen: The Path to Power," by Jason O'Toole, is really embarrassing - it's only sold 500 copies since its release five weeks ago!

"The demand for Barack Obama's books is unprecedented and we expect both books to be among our Christmas best sellers," said Joe Collins, deputy manager of Hodges Figgis bookstore in Dublin.

"I can't remember Irish people being this interested in an American president."