The Obama Overreach: Refuting A Few of Corsi’s Smears By Re-Writing History

Why would anyone claim that this book isn't a part of the right-wing attack scheme? It doesn't mean that they agree with the author on everything, only that they provide the author with a medium to express his views and then promote them. ("Look, even this person is saying that... and he doesn't even agree with us.")

Lot of the other points in this opinion piece are matters of interpretation, and maybe the correct response from the Obama campaign would not have been to declare certain points outright lies. But people like when things are simplified for them. If you start to explain complexities for them, they just tune out and think you are hiding something.

Summa summarum: I think this blog/article is an overreach and provides unnecessary echoes to the right-wing echo chamber.

I think the Obama Campaign has forgotten the how the internet Really works. So to refute Corsi, who is often easily refuted, the add to his impact by refuting "Lies" that are not. This just brings into focus those easily proven lies of Obama, and makes the other, actual lies by Corsi seem legit. Poor Form Obama Folks. They would have been far better off sticking to Corsi's trash, and not done such stupid moves as calling Lies that which is easily proven.

Phrases such as "Bush/Cheney Attack Machine" and "Rightwing Attack Machine" are themselves attacks, of course. Their use on the Americans' left seems to have become a habit that displaces thought; it's become repetitive, automatic, mechanical. "Bush/Cheney Attack Machine" and "Rightwing Attack Machine" are themselves mechanical attacks.

I bought Corsi's book and just finisned reading it. While it is clear Corsi has a personal political agenda - to prevent Obama from getting elected - Corsi openly admits to that in the first few pages.

But, while there are some inaccuracies and exagerations and clearly biased statements, Corsi's book presents much information about Obama that the MSM has been hiding from voters (i.e. Obama's connection with Alinsky's community organizing methodology in Chicago).

I think the book is worthwhile to read. Discerning readers will be able to decide what information they believe or accept or reject. Although not everything in the book is accurate, a lot of it is.

PS - Thanks Jake for being a courageous journalist. Your informative reporting gives us some hope that political journalism in America is not totally dead.

I bought the book and read about 1/3 so far. If the first 20 pages of this book contain ANY truth, Obama is TOAST.

Unbelievable that ABC is behind this outright wholesale promotion of this dangerous candidate.

Jerome Corsi writes a scandalous and untrue book about Senator Obama. Obama defends himself by issuing a statement which demonstrates that Corsi's book is false. Jake Tapper then attacks Obama for defending himself. Ridiculous.

That's great research Jake Tapper!

Tactically, I question the Obama campaign's response because how many people who would be drawn to the Corsi book would follow through and actually read Barack's 40 page rebuttal? Like were they trying to go for the number '40 page+' rather than truth?

And if the lies are so egregious, why not sue the author and the publisher to compel them to issue a recall/retraction on 2 or three of the most damaging demonstrable false facts?

Really? giving legitimacy to this book? Helping it out by giving the liars that support the claims that Obama has no birth certificate time?

you can play the game of trying to be a neutral party, but all you do is legitimatize lies. You sir are a disgrace and should be ashamed for this story.

I bought the book, and I am stunned at what I did not know. Why hasn't the mainstream dug into Obama's background? Aren't his associations, as well as his political and social beliefs, critical to understanding who he is and deciding, on an individual level, whether we want him for our president? Don't the people have a right to know him, and don't the media have the responsibility to inform us rather than obfuscate. No wonder the is media dying; it's lost its soul and is rotting from its core, and it's so obvious.

Jake Tapper is earning his spurs with his election coverage. It's just sad to see how carefully Mr. Tapper must chose his words and justify the truth to avoid enraging the noise machine. Keep up the struggle Jake. We must always accept the truth from whichever corner it comes. And be its champions.

"ANY book with any veracity will have footnotes that can be checked for the source of the tidbits within the book. The first dozen footnotes in Corsi's book are attributed to HIM !!!"

Tommy is a liar like many other liberals. Looking at the footnotes of the preface of THE OBAMA NATION the majority of the quotes are attributed to Corsi. But the topic of the preface is "Who I Am and Why I Wrote This Book". Even with this it is not true that the first 12 quotes are attributed to Corsi even though you would expect many of the quotes to be about Corsi given the topic of the preface. Now moving on to the actual book let us take the first chapter. There are 29 references and only three are related to Corsi - telephone interviews. Reference #4 is a telephone interview with Sharon Churcher; reference #5 is a telephone interview with Rob Crilly; and reference #19 is a telephone interview with Sayid Obama in Kisumu Kenya. To make the claim that the references are somehow faulty, is a complete lie. The telephone interviews show that Corsi was careful to gather the facts. Few of the references in the book are actually attributed to Corsi. One of the characteristics of Corsi's writing is that his work is well researched! This is why his work is so powerful. He is able to bring out the details and bring out the real person - in this case Barack Obama.

Obama didn't just take Deval's words, he took his gestures. McLaughlin ran both tapes -- it's comical.

I wish you people in the media would look into Obama's background the same way you are looking into Corsi's.

Author is correct...Obama should take a few of the real lies and dispute them. We would be interested in that. Taking things that are true but embarrassing or not complimentary and saying they're lies is .....a lie.
Obama is not going to win by sparring with the likes of Corsi. He should know that by now. Those who buy and read Corsi's books are never going to vote for Senator Obama and those who are supporting or are thinking of voting for Senator Obama already know about the information contained in Corsi's book and they've decided if they believe the accusations or not. Kind of childish, if you ask me.

I am reading "Obama Nation" and finished the first two chapters. It is full of accurate research, much extracted from Obama's own writing and speeches. It is also fairly understated in tone. For example, it is careful to confirm Obama's Christianity while observing that he had some Islamic instruction as a child. Hardly a controversy and apparently true.

I have been astonished by the absurd cries of "bigot", "lies", and "smears" from an assortment of Liberal Media hacks. The ad hominem attacks SCREAM invective and fail to refute anything specific of substance in the book.

They sound prejudiced and wrong.

"Obama's friendship with the Reverend Jeremiah Wright"

He spent 20 years with Wrignt, the Farrahkan supporter. They should all three move out of America.

"If Corsi's book is so false, then:
1) Why are you folks so upset?"
This should go without saying, but apparently, the thick ones have a hard time with the concept of fairness...People who possess ethics denounce books whose content is almost exclusively based on unsubstantiated claims with an obvious goal of smearing someone. This is Unfit For Command, part II. It's a new target, and a new set of lies, but the goal is the same.

"2) Why is it a NYT BEST SELLER?"
For the same reason Coulter's books achieve this status...The right-wing money machine buys a few hundred thousand to vault it up there, and give is away to propagate their smear campaign.

"3) How many copies has Nancy Pelosi's book sold so far?"
What relevance does this have to Corsi's book of lies?

ANY book with any veracity will have footnotes that can be checked for the source of the tidbits within the book. The first dozen footnotes in Corsi's book are attributed to HIM !!!
How can anyone expect to be taken seriously when you use terms like "a blogger said..." and "in my earlier reporting I found..." and then go on to try and make a point.
Obam may be over the top in refuting the ridiculous claims but one thing is for sure: The percentage of claims in this book that are outright lies is enough to strain any concept of credulity.

"So, instead of attacks on the messenger why not do a point by point refutation of the allegations in his book?"

Which is precisely what Obama did.

How many of you have read this book, or the other two? As Obama continues to conceal his personal history (birth
certificate) and continues to present imaginary incidents as facts, people will challenge him on the information that he gives as truth.

Persons at KO's has given Obama supporters this man's address so that
they could hassle him...sites are being set up to defend him...but still the
problem lies with Barack/Barry... your
complaints should be directed to him
and not the ones who deliver the
message, as he is person who continues to lie about the facts and fabricates his personal history.

Not everyone is wrong, and he is Wright...