Conservative Authors Take Aim At Obama

Washington Post: New Books Seek To Unweave The Obama Narrative

(Washingtonpost.com)  This story was written by Eli Saslow.

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In two autobiographies and dozens of speeches, Barack Obama has weaved the narrative that defines his campaign: An introspective boy gradually comes to terms with his mixed-race heritage and emerges with an "unprejudiced" worldview. He enters politics because of his "love of country" and succeeds by staying faithful to his morals and "transcending the partisan divide."

Two weeks before Obama accepts the Democratic nomination for president, conservative author Jerome R. Corsi has attacked his story with a narrative of his own: The son of an "alcoholic polygamist," Obama deals with his abandonment issues and "black rage" by experimenting with drugs and radical thought. He makes a calculated entrance into politics despite having accomplished little and having developed some "anti-American" sentiments. Once in office, he regularly manipulates the political machine and becomes a liberal who will "divide America."

Corsi's "The Obama Nation" lacks major revelations and has been dismissed by Obama's campaign as a series of lies from a serial liar. Parts of the book have also been disproved by the mainstream media. In 2004, Corsi co-wrote "Unfit for Command," in which Swift boat veterans criticized Sen. John F. Kerry's Vietnam War record. That book was also widely disproved.

Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential candidate, has started a Web site to help discredit these tactics on Obama's behalf.

Nevertheless, Corsi's book about Obama will debut as a No. 1 New York Times bestseller and threatens the candidate where he could be vulnerable. Ever since Obama introduced himself at the 2004 Democratic convention as the "unlikely" son of a Kenyan goat herder and a white woman from Kansas, he forever married his background to his political future. Corsi and other conservative authors hope that by diminishing one, they can destroy the other.

"The problem with running a campaign that's based on cult of personality is that cracks in the grandiose facade of Obama's life become very damaging," Corsi said in an interview. "That's where you can get a reader's attention and have substantial impact."

Tommy Vietor, a spokesman for Obama, said Corsi's book "is nothing but a series of lies that were long ago discredited." Vietor added: "The reality is, there are many lie-filled books like this in the works cobbled together from the Internet to make money off a presidential campaign."

Both Democrats and Republicans think the election could hinge on whether Obama's narrative loses its luster. Until recently, he had the luxury of presenting his story alone. "Dreams From My Father" and "The Audacity of Hope," his autobiographies, were the first two books written about him, and they remain bestsellers. Obama also relied on his background during his career's most public moments -- the keynote address at the 2004 convention, a speech in March about race in America -- to inspire a diverse following.

In the past few months, other storytellers have proved that a market for skepticism remains. In addition to Corsi's book, two other anti-Obama books rank in the top 35 on Amazon.com's bestseller list. Their titles reveal their intent: "Fleeced," by Dick Morris and Eileen McGann, and "The Case Against Barack Obama," by David Freddoso. In all three books, the authors state that they share the mission of destroying the idealized image of Obama that is popular among Democrats.

Corsi is most damning in his portrait of the candidate. He implies that Obama misrepresents his religion, for instance, saying that Muslim faith plays a significant role in his ideology, even though he is a practicing Christian. He portrays the senator from Illinois as a savvy opportunist who manipulated Chicago politics and then consistently voted like an "extreme" liberal. "The book is going to change a lot of opinions," Corsi said. "It's a different version of the man than he's been presenting."

Obama supporters, though, have largely dismissed Corsi's book and the other attacks as products of bitterness, partisanship and dishonesty. Corsi has a track record of making extreme comments -- he once called Pope John Paul II "senile" and Islam a "virus" -- and "The Obama Nation" includes potentially offensive passages. Corsi writes that Obama's mother chose "men of color" from the "third world" to be her "mates," and that Obama identifies more with his "African blood" than his American roots.

Corsi's book and the others like it have found their largest audience inside a conservative echo chamber, reinforcing the divide between supporters of Obama and those of his challenger, Republican Sen. John McCain. The anti-Obama narratives are the creation of conservative authors, pushed by conservative book clubs that buy in bulk to drive up sales and publicized by right-wing bloggers. Corsi said he attempts to expand beyond that audience by aggressively marketing to independent voters and those who supported the presidential bid of Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The book is published by Simon & Schuster's Threshold Editions, whose main editor is former GOP strategist Mary Matalin.

Vietor characterized Corsi's new release as similar to his Kerry book in that it is a thinly veiled effort to keep Republicans in power. "This is an attempt to perpetuate those politics for four more years," he said.

Corsi acknowledged as much, saying: "One of the reasons I wrote this book is to keep Obama from getting elected."

Authors of the other anti-Obama books were similarly forthcoming about their motives. They wanted not just to analyze Obama but to debunk him, they wrote. In the introduction to "The Case Against Barack Obama," Freddoso says he felt compelled by duty: "As it became clear that he was going to win the Democratic nomination for president, it seemed irresponsible to stand by as so many were offering admiration, piety, even worship to -- of all things -- a politician. Because the idea of Barack Obama as a reformer is a great lie."

Readers of the new books are forced to differentiate on their own between bias and biography, between facts and fictionalizations, literary experts said. It is a task most readers have learned to manage. "Readers aren't as gullible as they used to be," said Tom Smith, a biography scholar at Pennsylvania State University at Abington. "One thing we've learned so far with biographies in the 21st century is that every book is going to be one person's take."

Pad a biography with enough slant and opinion, experts said, and a good author can make the same facts reveal two different stories. Take two McCain books that explore the same subject: There's Paul Alexander's glowing portrait in "Man of the People: The Maverick Life and Career of John McCain." Or there's Matt Welch's eviscerating take in "McCain: The Myth of a Maverick."

"Especially in politics, you have a crowded book market and there's probably room for five or six takes that can be totally different," Smith said. "It's ultimately up to the reader to decide which one he likes."

[coryellco]

hay libs hows san frans nancy book doing......that bad huh.....that says a lot right their

[coryellco]

funny....seems the truth is always called smears by the left .....learn the truth and take it like big boys and girls .....theirs no crying in politics

[JonBouye]

Dr. Jerome Corsi has done it again in the political arena, stirred things up. He has admitted to incorrect entries as far as the Obama''s date of marriage and Stokely Carmichael''s book publication date.

But these are not the main focus or point of the book; which is: Should Obama be a valid candidate for the presidency? A valid question as the ''Man of Mystery'' has yet to present a varifialbe birth certificate which is one of the requirements for office.

The way this article reads you would think Dr. Corsi is backing the Republican candidate in this election, when in truth he endorses Chuck Baldwin of the Constitution Party. Although I don''t agree with Dr. Corsi in all aspects at least he presents plenty of resources for one who honestly seeks to know the truth to further investigate the individual issues themselves.

For example; I looked up: Senator Barack Obama in Kenya and found in the African Press International this article: Obama and Odinga: The True Story. Hummmm.

I only wish he would do the same for McCain.

[taotxzen]

Jack Cafferty to McCain, Say What? %u201CIn the 21st century, nations don%u2019t invade other nations.%u201D

And now for the news...

[taotxzen]

Troops Deployed Abroad Donate 6:1 To Obama

And now for the news...

[taotxzen]

McCain Critics Continue To Attack His Wealth

And now for the news...

[taotxzen]

Musharraf''s Future Uncertain As Talks Begin In Pakistan

And now for the news...

[taotxzen]

Gonzales, DOJ Officials Sued By Attorneys

And now for the news...

[libsluv2spit]

If obama wants to be the next president, he should show some hint that he can take ALL PUNCHES..

Bush took all punches from nancy pelosi all they way down to that ''black'' drug dealer rappers..unfaltered..unmoved..

What does barrack HUSSEIN obamas TYPICAL WHITE grandmother think about all this?

What does Barrck HUSSEIN Obama''s TYPICAL WHITE grandmother think about this?

What does Barrack Hussein Obama''s TYPICAL WHITE GRANDMOTHER think about this?

[taotxzen]

I heard about Jerome Corsi''s book a few weeks ago from my mother, who said that her great fear--that Barack Obama has covert Islamic associations--had been confirmed by a new book. I told her not to worry, that many reputable people had looked into the matter and Obama was more likely to be spotted in Whole Foods than praying in a mosque. (Since my mother has never been to Whole Foods, so she didn''t quite get my wry allusion.) "I hope so," she said, dubiously.

So we know the market for trash is there, and not so far from home. And we know, that Mary Matalin, who appears regularly on mainstream media programs like Meet the Press called the Corsi book in the New York Times today:

%u201Ca piece of scholarship, and a good one at that.%u201D

(cont)

[taotxzen]

(cont)

But hey, Mary stands to make big bucks off this scholarship, which I''m sure was submitted for peer review and otherwise held to the highest editorial standards--and I''m sure her reputation and mediagenicity won''t be damaged by this poisonous ***, and we''re all friends here, aren''t we? And, yknow, they say politics ain''t beanbag...and it''s all in the game to tell innocent, well-intentioned people that Barack Obama is a secret Muslim or that John Kerry wasn''t really a hero in Vietnam. Or, as George W. Bush, once told a rightly outraged John McCain--whose wife and daughter Bush''s minions had smeared--"It''s just politics."

Back in the day, John McCain was the sort of politician who would stand first in line to call out this sort of swill. (As, I''m sure Barack Obama or John Kerry would do, if some hate-crazed, money-grubbing left-winger published a book claiming that McCain had been successfully brainwashed in Vietnam--as Kerry did indeed do when a group of spurious Bush-backing Vietnam vets tried to claim exactly that about McCain during the 2000 Republican primary in South Carolina.)

(cont)

[taotxzen]

(cont)

But we''re not seeing those sorts of claims being made about McCain this year...because Democrats tend not to do that sort of thing. They are the sorts of claims that Republicans--Bush Republicans--make. They range from the blatantly extra-curricular, like Corsi''s book, to the official McCain-sanctioned introduction made by Joe Lieberman--of all people--yesterday: that Obama doesn''t "put America first."
I know that people like me are supposed to try to be fair...and balanced. (The Fox mockery of our sappy professional standards seems more brutally appropriate with each passing year.) In the past, I would achieve a semblance--or an illusion--of balance by criticizing Democrats for not responding effectively when right-wing sludge merchants poisoned our national elections with their filth and lies. And it is true, as John Kerry knows, that a more effective response--and a bolder campaign--might have neutralized the Swiftboat assault four years ago. It is also true that Corsi''s book this time is far less effective than his Swiftboat venture, since it doesn''t come equipped with veterans willing to defile their service by telling lies to camera.

(cont)

[taotxzen]

(cont)

But there is no excuse for what the McCain campaign is doing on the "putting America first" front. There is no way to balance it, or explain it other than as evidence of a severe character defect on the part of the candidate who allows it to be used. There is a straight up argument to be had in this election: Mcain has a vastly different view from Obama about foreign policy, taxation, health care, government action...you name it. He has lots of experience; it is always shocking to remember that this time four years ago, Barack Obama was still in the Illinois State Legislature. Apparently, though, McCain isn''t confident that conservative policies and personal experience can win, given the ruinous state of the nation after eight years of Bush. So he has made a fateful decision: he has personally impugned Obama''s patriotism and allows his surrogates to continue to do that. By doing so, he has allied himself with those who smeared him, his wife, his daughter Bridget, in 2000. Those tactics won George Bush a primary--and a nomination. But they proved a form of slow-acting spiritual poison, rotting the core of the Bush presidency. We''ll see if the public decides to acquiesce in sleaze in 2008, and what sort of presidency--what sort of country--that will produce.

Joe Kline %u2013 TIME magazine

[taotxzen]

WellHell3, obama8years and johnbush2

Grand Old Poopers for More of the Same...

[tonyd_31]

There''''s enough in Obscamma''''s own books to make you want to PUKE!

Posted by WellHell3

Actually, it is your thought processes is what makes me want to puke. You brain-washed zombies who believe the BS that these neocon authors make up makes me sick. You might want to stop listening to Rush and the boyz for a little while. Are you not tired of being a jelly-fish pawn for the radical right?

[taotxzen]

All you have to do to prove up Corsi''''s statements is to read Obscamma''''s own books. Two ridiculous treatises that show Obscamma''''s ego trips, and whack job identity crisis! There''''s enough in Obscamma''''s own books to make you want to PUKE!

Posted by WellHell3

Do you also believe that Obama is the Anti-Christ.

People like you are the reason we have this type of slander politics in this country. You love the hate and smear. But let me ask If you this, what if you and your brethren were the majority in this country rather than just the 20% dead-enders? What would this country sound like, act like, be like?

[taotxzen]

Obama Campaign Punches Back Hard Against Corsi Smears

As promised, Barack Obama''s campaign is hitting back hard against smear author Jerome Corsi''s New York Times best-selling book The Obama Nation.

In an exhaustive 41-page PDF document entitled Unfit for Publication -- a riff on Corsi''s 2004 Unfit for Command, which targeted John Kerry -- the campaign documents every false claim they have been able to find in Corsi''s current tome. No matter how small the error, including the year the Obamas married, the campaign has taken time to correct the record.

Clearly, the cumulative effect is meant as a kind of rhetorical "shock and awe" campaign against Corsi, who is described in the prelude of Unfit for Publication as "a discredited, fringe bigot" who "believes that President Bush is trying to merge the United states with Mexico and Canada," in addition to holding other conspiracy theories.

"Corsi has penned a litany of bigoted, hateful comments-- crossing the line so thoroughly that even the right-wing operatives behind Swift Boat Veterans for Truth disavowed him. This is a man who smears the Catholic Church, calls the Pope ''senile,'' and regularly demeans public servants in vile sexual and racial terms," the document reads. "In short, his record of attacks is disgusting and false, and so is this book."

It is amazing McCain keeps saying he is no George Bush and proceeds to run a Bush campaign of fear and smear. You wanna talk about *Unfit fir Command.*

Must be a Republican thing.