Jerome Corsi's "NonFiction Bestseller" Is Neither

[Purveyor]

By Peter Dreier

The publication on August 1 of Jerome Corsi's book, The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality, has triggered considerable controversy in political and publishing circles, not only because the book is filled with many lies and distortions, but also because Corsi has long been affiliated with the nut-case wing of the conservative movement. Last Friday, John McCain exacerbated the storm when he responded to a reporter's question about the book by saying, "Gotta keep your sense of humor," which some observers took to be a casual endorsement of the book.

Several anti-Obama books have recently arrived in bookstores, but Obama Nation is getting the most attention, in large part because it is so inflammatory and is being heavily marketed. The book's publisher has 475,000 copies in print, according to a company spokesperson. In contrast, the first serious liberal book about the Democratic candidate -- Robert Kuttner's Obama's Challenge -- is being released August 25 with a first printing of 75,000.

Despite Obama Nation' s many lies and distortions, the book wasn't put out by an ideologically-driven right-wing publisher such as Regnery, but by the profit-driven Simon & Schuster, one of the country's largest and most respected publishers, now owned by CBS Corporation. Corsi has been interviewed on numerous TV and radio talk shows (both right-wingers like Sean Hannity and mainstreamers like Larry King). He and his book have been profiled in the New York Times (on the front page) and by other mainstream publications, lending credibility to Obama Nation's scurrilous claims. The book has risen to the top of the Times best-seller list, despite indications that its sales were artificially inflated by bulk sales, most likely by right-wing anti-Obama groups. Many bookstores, especially major national chains, are heavily promoting the book and stocking their "best seller" shelves with this mudslinging hatchet job. The New York Times even published the book's Preface on its website.

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Corsi has long-term ties to extreme right-wing, white supremacist hate groups. He writes for the ultra-right World Net Daily. He's called Arabs "ragheads," Bill Clinton an "anti-American communist," Islam a "a worthless, dangerous Satanic religion," Martin Luther King a "shake-down artist," and Katie Couric "Little Katie Communist." He recently was scheduled to appear on the Memphis-based white-supremacist radio show, "Political Cesspool," whose host, James Edwards, referred to Slate columnist Timothy Noah as "Jew Timothy Noah." (Corsi canceled his appearance after facing a firestorm of bad publicity).

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[Supersedeas]

1. ya don't see Carville complaining too much