Jerome R. Corsi,
Ph.D..
Aug. 1, 2008. THE OBAMA
NATION: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality. New York: Threshold
Editions [Simon & Schuster imprint].
"In this thoroughly researched and
documented book, the #1 New York Times bestselling co-author of Unfit for
Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry explains why the extreme leftism
of an Obama presidency would leave the United States weakened,
diminished and divided, why Obama must be defeated -- and how he can
be."
The Obama campaign responded with a
40-page report "Unfit for Publication" posted in the Fight
the Smears section of its website (introduction reprinted below).
UNFIT FOR PUBLICATION: Setting the
Record Straight on the Lies in Jerome Corsi’s “The Obama Nation”
Once again, bigoted fringe author Jerome Corsi is trying to make money
off of an election, spinning garbage as journalism and relying on the
right-wing echo chamber to pump up sales. Make no mistake: “The Obama
Nation: is nothing but rehashed lies.
The allegations: rehashed lies
Corsi’s falsehoods about Barack Obama have been discredited by numerous
news organizations, which have questioned his “scholarship,” his
conclusions, and his ideological bent. This report will take you
through the allegations point by point. Despite Corsi’s high opinion of
his own scholarly abilities—he childishly touts the number of footnotes
it contains, for example—he gets many of even the most basic facts
wrong, like the year the Obamas got married.
As you might expect from the book’s shoddy foundation, many of its
claims are also completely false. The Obama’s never gave a million
dollars to a Kenyan politician. Obama has no secret plan to destroy the
military. Obama has regularly shared many of the facts about his family
that Corsi claims he has covered up.
The author: a discredited, fringe bigot
Of course, the lies in “The Obama Nation” almost pale in comparison to
the bizarre, conspiratorial views that Jerome Corsi has advocated in
his broader work. He believes that President Bush is trying to merge
the United states with Mexico and Canada. He believes that there is a
literally unending supply of oil beneath the ground. And in perhaps the
gravest sign that his views can’t be trusted, he alleges a government
cover-up of the 9/11 attacks and denies that airplanes were to blame
for the towers’ collapse.
And it doesn’t stop there. 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.
In short, his record of attacks is disgusting and false, and so is this
book.