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The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality
AuthorJerome Corsi
LanguageEnglish
SubjectBarack Obama, early life and career of Barack Obama, Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008
PublisherThreshold Editions, an imprint of Simon & Schuster
Publication date
August 1 2008
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (Hardcover)
Pages384
ISBNISBN 1416598065 Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character

The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality is a controversial book by Jerome Corsi critical of Barack Obama and his candidacy for President of the United States.[1] The book argues against Barack Obama's candidacy for U.S. president by alleging his "extreme leftism", "extensive connections with Islam and radical politics", and "naïve...foreign policy", and past drug use and connections to corrupt backers, among other things.[2] The book has been criticized as containing factual errors[1][3][4][5][6][7][8][9], racially insensitive,[10][11][8], and a political "attack book" containing smears, falsehoods, and innuendo.[12][13][14][15]

Released on August 1, 2008, it was #4 in sales in nonfiction during the first week of its release[16] and on August 13, The New York Times reported that the book had reached #1 on the New York Times Best Seller list for hardcover non-fiction books [1], due in part to higher bulk sales.[17][18] The book was published by Threshold Editions, a division of CBS-owned Simon & Schuster, whose chief editor is Republican party political strategist Mary Matalin.[19] The title is intentionally assonant with abomination.[9]

During the 2004 United States presidential election, Corsi co-wrote Unfit for Command, a book associated with Swift Vets and POWs for Truth that was critical of Democratic candidate John Kerry.[1][20][21] He is a regular contributor at conservative internet publication WorldNetDaily, and is associated with conspiracy theories such as the North American currency union[22][23][24][25][26] and the 9/11 Truth Movement.[27]

Content

See also: Early life and career of Barack Obama

In the book, Corsi recounts Barack Obama's upbringing and early political career in Chicago and argues that Obama is an "extreme leftis[t]" who should not be elected president. The book claims to document "Obama's extensive connections with Islam and radical politics", his "religious affiliation with ... black-liberation theology", and his associations with controversial pastor Jeremiah Wright, convicted fraudster Tony Rezko,[9] and radical activists Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn, formerly of the Weather Underground.[2] The book also argues that Obama supports "far-left domestic policy" and "naïve ... foreign policy predicated on the reduction of the military", and that he is therefore unsuitable to be the President of the United States.[2] Corsi has also said his purpose in writing the book was to "defeat" Obama in the 2008 United States presidential election.[1]

Responses from presidential campaigns and other politicians

Obama campaign response

See also: Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008

In response to the book, the Obama campaign issued a 40-page response entitled "Unfit for Publication" on the campaign website FightTheSmears.com, taking issue with assertions made in the book and alleging factual errors.[28] The campaign also issued a press release, reading in part:

This book is nothing but a series of lies that were long ago discredited, written by an individual who was discredited after he wrote a similar book to help George Bush and Dick Cheney get re-elected four years ago... The reality is that there are many lie-filled books like this in the works cobbled together from the Internet to make money off of a presidential campaign... We will respond to these smears forcefully.[1]

The Obama campaign called it "a new book of lies" and is planning thorough exposure of the book through "the Action Wire to push back against this year's vicious Republican attack book."[8] In addition, the Democratic National Committee joined the "counteroffensive" telling its supporters in an email: "The media have shown that they aren't going to stop him. It's up to you to spread the truth, so here it is. Below you will find the facts about Corsi and his desperate fabrications."[29]

Conservative commentators and others said the Obama campaign's response wasn't always accurate itself, and it gave the book more publicity,[30] likely resulting in higher sales. Jim Geraghty, writing in National Review Online, criticized the Obama campaign response for bringing up but not refuting Corsi's critcism that Obama would have been aware of the famous, controversial past of Bill Ayers when Obama knew and worked with him.[31]Radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt agreed.[32] ABC News reporter Jake Tapper wrote in his blog that "not everything in the Obama campaign’s 40-page refutation of Corsi’s shoddy and dishonest book Obama Nation is fair" and that the Obama campaign was "refuting a few of Corsi’s smears by re-writing history".[33]

McCain campaign response

See also: John McCain presidential campaign, 2008

When asked for a comment about the book, fellow presidential candidate John McCain said, "Gotta keep your sense of humor."[34][35] Subsequently, "campaign spokeswoman Brooke Buchanan said McCain did not hear the question, and the campaign had no comment."[34] In response, the Obama campaign said, "McCain has said he wants to run an honorable campaign, but his belief that these smears are funny makes people question whether he now approves of the same reprehensible politics used to smear his own character eight years ago."[34] The McCain campaign later said he "had misheard the question" and said they do not plan to come to Obama's defense on every attack over which they have no control.[36]McCain's response was also criticized by DailyKos, an online liberal blog. The article slammed McCain, asking him if he thought it was funny if "I call you Crash?" in reference to McCain's military service and claimed that "Jerome Corsi works for John McCain"[37] Liberal blog BlogforArizona.com also questioned McCain's statement, asking if McCain had "No denunciation of this smear book?" and recalling that "you were momentarily critical of the Swift Boat Liars" [38]

Other responses

In response to the book's publication, Senator John Kerry, the subject of a previous book by Corsi during his 2004 campaign for presidency, launched the website "Truth Fights Back". The site aims to combat Corsi's claims and "tracks, debunks, and counters the smears of the right wing against Democrats."[39]

Reception and critical review

The book was ranked #4 in sales in nonfiction during the first week of its release,[40] and subsequently rose to #1 on the New York Times Best Seller list for hardcover non-fiction books within two weeks.[1] The New York Times notes that the some bookstores report higher bulk sales,[18][1] leading some Obama defenders to question whether conservative groups bought it in bulk to inflate sales -- a claim Corsi denies.[41]

Corsi's book has been criticized for inaccuracies by news organizations such as The New York Times,[1] the Los Angeles Times,[3] the Associated Press,[4] Time (magazine),[42] Newsweek,[43] The Daily Telegraph,[5] Editor & Publisher,[6] The Guardian,[7] CNN,[8] The Independent,[9] and The Boston Globe.[39] According to The New York Times, "several of the book's accusations, in fact, are unsubstantiated, misleading or inaccurate."[1] Peter Wehner of Commentary wrote: "conservatives should not hitch their hopes to" Corsi's book because "it seems to be riddled with factual errors — some relatively minor (like asserting that Obama does not mention the birth of his half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, in Dreams from My Father; Obama does mention her), and some significant (suggesting that Obama favors withdrawing troops from Afghanistan; he wants to do the opposite)."[44]

The Washington Post called it a "innuendo-filled, mistake-riddled biography" in its online election diary The Trail.[36] Kate Linthicum of the Los Angeles Times wrote "being No. 1 [on the best seller list] doesn't necessarily mean being accurate" in regard to Corsi's claims about Obama's religious faith.[3] The Politico reported that Corsi's book "left a trail of wild theories, vitriol and dogma that have called into question his credibility."[45] The British newspaper The Independent called Corsi's book "a hatchet job on Obama".[9] According to Slate, "neither Corsi nor Matalin responded to e-mails from me asking whether they intended to correct any errors in The Obama Nation – it would be a miracle if there were none" [emphasis in original].[46]

Media Matters for America, which describes itself as a progressive organization dedicated to countering "conservative misinformation in the U.S. media",[47] has pointed out numerous instances of inaccuracies in the book[48][49] and in Corsi's statements promoting the work.[50] Paul Waldman of Media Matters appeared with Corsi on Larry King Live when they discussed the claims.[51] MSNBC's Contessa Brewer confronted Corsi with these alleged inaccuracies; Corsi disputed Media Matters' allegations.[52]

The book also contains what the The Washington Post describes as "potentially offensive passages" about Barack Obama's personal and family life, such as one stating that Obama is less identified with his American roots than his "African blood".[11] Corsi also writes: "Obama's mother chose another Third World prospect for her second husband, a second man of color, to be her mate.", noted by CNN as "lines some might consider racially insensitive."[8] The LA Times also pointed to a line by Corsi claiming "Obama wants to will all the white blood out of himself so he can become pure black," citing "bigoted comments."[53] The Chicago Sun-Times called it "an abomination," and said the book "exploits racial fears [and] hate in [an] effort to scare white America."[10] Corsi has drawn criticism for scheduling an appearance to promote the book on the The Political Cesspool, a "pro-White" radio talk show described as "white nationalist" by the Southern Poverty Law Center.[54][55] He previously appeared on the show on July 20th.[56]

Truth of Allegations

The New York Times noted the book's assertion that Obama attended an incendiary sermon by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright in Chicago on a date when Obama was in fact giving a speech in Florida.[1] The article further noted Corsi's assertion that Obama had yet to answer if he had stopped using drugs. The The State Journal-Register of Springfield, Illinois reported Obama's response to a question about his drug use: "I haven't done anything since I was 20 years old." Corsi told the Times that "self-reporting, by people who have used drugs, as to when they stopped is inherently unreliable."[1] In the book, Corsi says that Obama may still be using drugs today, but does not provide evidence for this claim.[57]

The Times further noted that while Obama is a Christian, the book contains statements arguing that he has "extensive connections to Islam".[1][58] One of Corsi's statements is that Obama's childhood friend, Zulfin Adi, had stated that Obama was a practicing Muslim; this claim has been refuted by multiple newspapers and people close to Obama.[59]

Corsi provides the wrong date of the Obamas' marriage.[57] Corsi also asserts that Obama's father divorced his mother under Islamic law, a claim which contradicts the version of events presented by Obama in Dreams from my Father.[60] Corsi claims that Obama did not dedicate his book, Dreams from my Father, to his grandparents. In the book, however, Obama writes, "It is to my family, though -- my mother, my grandparents, my siblings, stretched across oceans and continents -- that I owe the deepest gratitude and to whom I dedicated this book".[61] Corsi also says that Obama does not mention his half-sister Maya Soetoro-Ng in Dreams from my Father, when in fact she is mentioned on page 47.[62]

When discussing the house Barack and Michelle Obama bought in 2005, Corsi cites a February 1, 2008 Salon.com article for the claim that Chicago businessman Tony Rezko (since convicted of fraud) "found the house for Obama."[49][63][64] In a 2007 interview with the staff of the Chicago Sun-Times, Barack Obama asserted that it was his wife who found the house.[65]

Corsi claims Obama "has pledged to reduce the size of the military." However, Obama's "Plan for a 21st Century Military," posted on his website, includes this statement: "Expand to Meet Military Needs on the Ground". Adding more troops is a major stressing point in the document.[66]

See also

References

Citations

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  2. ^ a b c "The Obama Nation: Description". Simon & Schuster, Inc. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
  3. ^ a b c Linthicum, Kate (2008-08-12). "Book attacking Obama makes the bestseller list". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-08-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  8. ^ a b c d e Yellin, Jessica (2008-08-14). "Book on Obama blasted for 'vicious innuendo'". CNN. Retrieved 2008-08-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ a b c d e Cornwell, Rupert (2008-08-14). "From the author who destroyed John Kerry, a hatchet job on Obama". The Independent. Retrieved 2008-08-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ a b Mitchell, Mary (2008-08-14). "Latest smear against Obama an abomination". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2008-08-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ a b Saslow, Eli (2008-08-14). "New Books Aim To Unweave the Obama Narrative". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-08-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ Tapper, Jake (2008-08-15). "The Obama Overreach: Refuting A Few of Corsi's Smears By Re-Writing History". ABC News: Political Punch. Retrieved 2008-08-15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameters: |1= and |coauthors= (help)
  13. ^ Mooney, Alexander (2008-08-15). "Campaign says McCain didn't hear question on attack book". CNN Political Ticker. Retrieved 2008-08-15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameters: |1= and |coauthors= (help)
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  19. ^ Goddard, Taegan (2008-08-13). "New Swift Boat Book Tops Charts". Taegan Goddard's Political Wire. Political Wire. Retrieved 2008-08-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  21. ^ "Left or right, Obama books are hot". Associated Press. International Herald Tribune. 2008-08-12. Retrieved 2008-08-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  22. ^ Kovach, Gretel C. (2007-12-10). "Highway to Hell? Ron Paul's worked up about U.S. sovereignty". Newsweek. Retrieved 2008-08-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  23. ^ Hawkins, John (2008-08-14). "There Isn't Going to Be a North American Union". Human Events. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
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  25. ^ Bennett, Drake (2007-11-25). "The amero conspiracy". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2008-08-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  27. ^ Wheaton, Sarah (2008-08-14). "Anti-Obama Author on 9/11 Conspiracy". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-08-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  28. ^ "Unfit For Publication: An Investigative Report On The Lies In Jerome Corsi's "Obama Nation"". Obama for America. 2008-08-14. Retrieved 2008-08-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  29. ^ Rhee, Foon (2008-08-14). "DNC joins defense of Obama on book". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2008-08-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  30. ^ Levin, Yuval, "Fighting the Last War", August 14, 2008, 4:53 p.m. post at "The Corner" blog at National Review Online website, retrieved August 15, 2008
  31. ^ Geraghty, Jim, "Is the Obama Campaign Asserting The Candidate Didn't Know of Ayers' Past?", August 15, 2008, 8:43 a.m. post at "Campaign Spot" blog at National Review Online website, retrieved August 15, 2008
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  33. ^ Jake Tapper. The Obama Overreach: Refuting A Few of Corsi’s Smears By Re-Writing History. ABC News
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  35. ^ Babington, Charles (2008-08-15). "McCain has no comment on anti-Obama book". Associated Press. Google News. Retrieved 2008-08-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  36. ^ a b Kornblut, Anne E. (2008-08-15). "McCain Corsi quip irks Obama camp". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-08-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  37. ^ DailyKos.com, "Jerome Corsi works for John McCain"
  38. ^ Blogforarizona, "Gotta Keep Your Sense of Humor, John
  39. ^ a b Rhee, Foon (2008-08-14). "To aid Obama, Kerry takes on an old foe". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2008-08-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  50. ^ "On three Hannity programs, Corsi offered another falsehood: Obama supports abortion '[a]fter a child's born'". Media Matters for America. 2008-08-02. Retrieved 2008-08-15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  51. ^ "Larry King Live Corsi and Waldman". Media Matters for America. 2008-08-13. Retrieved 2008-08-15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  52. ^ "MSNBC Live". MSNBC Live. 2008-08-05. MSNBC. {{cite episode}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); More than one of |airdate= and |date= specified (help)
  53. ^ "McCain catches heat over apparent comment on Corsi's 'Obama Nation'". Los Angeles Times. 2008-08-14.
  54. ^ Holthouse, David (Fall 2007). "Memphis Sewage: In Tennessee, a Racist Radio Host Thrives". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved 2008-07-29.
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  56. ^ "Corsi's previous appearance on "pro-White" radio show was streamed live on "White Nationalist" Stormfront.org". Media Matters for America. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
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  60. ^ Dreams From My Father, by Barack Obama, pages 125-126, ISBN 1-5683-6162-9
  61. ^ Obama 1995: xvii.
  62. ^ Obama 1995: 47.
  63. ^ The Obama Nation, by Jerome Corsi, page 165; ISBN 9781416598060
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  66. ^ "A 21st Century Military for America" (PDF). Obama for America. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
Preceded by #1 New York Times Best Seller Non-Fiction
August 10 2008 – 		Succeeded by
current
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Obama_Nation&oldid=232723953"