"It was Bush's fault"? Help me out here. You post a thoughtful analysis on the demise of independent bookstores, and then you follow up with something banal like "it was Bush's fault"?
Well they have to know how to attract customers that's all. There's a thriving independent bookstore here that offers customers an environment and books the chains don't offer. Not that I like it that much. It's a lefty place.
Independent bookstores need to be masters of niche marketing. The lefty bookstores will always thrive in college towns, etc. Used book stores seem to do well because folks want to turn over their own stock of books from time to time. I'd think a combination of new and used would be a good one, selling some 'hot new authors' as well as new editions of the classics, along with used books.